Namida
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Ichigo finds Kisshu unconscious on her street and brings him home. Little does she know, she's in for a world of trouble. The title doesn't really have much to do with the plot, but I'm running out of good title ideas. I hope you like this!
1. Unconscious

**Namida Chapter 1:**

**Unconscious**

Ichigo was walking home from the Café in a bad mood. Aoyama had broken up with her for being a Mew Mew, and she came into work in tears and asked for some time off. Did Ryou care that she was sad and having a bad day? No, of course not. He made her clean dishes for four hours for being late. And then Pai had attacked downtown, and she had to fight him off with only Mint and Lettuce for backup. Pudding's sister was sick, and Zakuro had a photoshoot. They managed to defeat the Chimera Anima Pai sent out, but Lettuce got injured thanks to Mint shoving her by accident. And of course, since Ichigo was the leader, she got blamed for it, even though it was totally Mint's fault. On top of all that, Ichigo's parents had left yesterday for a three-week cruise in Fiji. So now she was heading home alone, with no one there to greet her.

Suddenly Ichigo tripped on something, and fell. Annoyed, she looked back- and nearly fell over again in shock. What she had tripped over was Kisshu, who was lying unconscious in the middle of the sidewalk. Ichigo sighed and went back to figure out why he was lying there. It sure wasn't going to be easy if anyone found him, and despite the fact that she claimed to hate him, she certainly didn't want him dead. She wasn't that kind of person- most of the time, anyways.

Going back to Kisshu, she gently turned him over, seeing if he was injured. Strangely, he didn't have any injuries on him, not even a scratch. She felt his forehead- no fever, either. _That's odd, _she thought. _There's nothing wrong with him that I can see or sense; why is he unconscious? _She contemplated her options on what to do. She could leave him here, but that seemed wrong. She could take him to Ryou- but Ryou would torture and kill him and then start in on her for something else that she apparently did wrong. She eventually sighed and went with option number three- Take Kisshu home, and wait for him to wake up to find out what happened. It wasn't like anyone was there, and Ryou hated her, so he wouldn't really care if she decided to skip a few days.

That decided, Ichigo picked up Kisshu and walked down the street to her house. He had been surprisingly close to her house. She vaguely wondered if it was a trap, but figured if it was, she had her pendant, and could protect herself.

She opened the front door, and went in. She listened carefully to see if anyone unwanted was there, but she didn't hear anything. Then she started thinking. _I could put Kisshu in the guest room, but if he wakes up and I'm not here, he's probably going to freak out because he will have no clue where he is or how he got here, _Ichigo thought. Sighing, she went upstairs, and put Kisshu on her bed, then took off his boots and pulled a blanket over him. Then she went to her closet and pulled out a sleeping bag, in case Kisshu didn't wake up before she got tired.

It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't tried to wake Kisshu up. She tried shaking him; no good. "Kisshu? Can you hear me?" Ichigo asked, softly at first, then getting louder. After shouting didn't work, she tried pinching him, poking him, slapping him- nothing worked. After about an hour, she gave it up, and went to make herself dinner. Another idea occurred to her, and she decided to see if the smell of food would get Kisshu to wake up. So once she was done reheating the lasagna her mother had left in the fridge, she took it upstairs and sat down at her desk to eat.

By the time she was finished, though, Kisshu still wasn't awake. _Maybe he's in a coma or something, _she thought. _If so, though, I guess he'll be here a while._

Ichigo finally decided to go to bed, and figure this out in the morning.

The next morning, she woke up to find that Kisshu was still unconscious. Knowing she couldn't just leave Kisshu at her house alone, whether he was in a coma or not, she promptly decided that seeing as she wasn't keen on school anyways, she would just play hooky until Kisshu woke up.

_**Two days later: **_Kisshu was still unconscious, and Ichigo had decided he probably was in a coma. She had turned off her cell phone after the fifteenth time Ryou called her, which meant no one could contact her. She knew he had tried the house phone, but it had caller ID as well, so she knew who was calling.

Ichigo spent most of her time in her room reading or doodling, and she had started eating in there as well, because sitting at the dining room table alone was pretty depressing.

On the morning of the fourth day since she had found Kisshu unconscious, Ichigo got up and did her usual routine. When she came back, however, someone was knocking on her window. Sighing, she went over to the window- and saw Ryou looking in. Knowing he had climbed the tree outside her window, she sighed and opened the window. Before he could say anything, Ichigo said, "I'm not letting you in, and you can go to hell for all I care, you evil bastard. I'm sick of working for you, and if you came here to try to get me back, it's not going to work. Now get out, or I'll push you out the window- and make sure you fall all the way down. Get out of my life."

Ryou seemed stunned by this little speech, and didn't say anything. "I'm giving you one chance to tell me what you want, and then I'm pushing you out the window," Ichigo said.

"I haven't been able to contact you, so I wanted to see if you were okay," Ryou said.

"Might I ask why the jerk who's been making my life a misery since I met him wants to know if I'm okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Because I care about you," Ryou said.

Ichigo just snapped then. "You could care less whether I live or die at the hands of the aliens," she snarled. "Don't pretend to be something you're not, _Blondie._" With that, she shoved him out her window, and watched with a look of satisfaction as he fell all the way down to the ground. She watched him get up, then slammed the window shut, and locked it. She then proceeded to lock every window and door in her house, and went back to her room. She closed her curtains, and was about to sit back down at her desk when a soft groan from the bed made her look up sharply.

Kisshu appeared to be stirring, and Ichigo warily sat down at her desk, watching him. He slowly opened his eyes, which were slightly unfocused. Suddenly it looked like he was in pain, because he squeezed his eyes shut again, putting a hand on his forehead.

Ichigo decided to take a chance, and asked, "Kisshu, are you okay?"

She watched as his whole body went tense, and guessing why, she said, "I'm not going to hurt you. Are you okay?"

"My head is killing me," Kisshu said. "Can you talk more softly?"

"Is this better?" Ichigo said in almost a whisper.

"Yeah…" Kisshu said. "Why am I here? And where is 'here'?"

"You're in my room, and you're here because I found you lying on my sidewalk, out cold," Ichigo said in the same soft voice. "I thought you were in a coma."

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"Um… you've been unconscious for nearly four days," Ichigo said. "And nothing I did would wake you up."

"I've been _unconscious _for _four days!?" _Kisshu asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I don't know what caused you to wake up today, though."

"Where's Taruto?" Kisshu asked.

"I don't know; he wasn't with you when I found you," Ichigo said. "What happened to you, Kisshu?"

Kisshu sighed. "Taruto and I have been trying to convince Pai that we should form a truce, and stop listening to Deep Blue," he said. "We've been fighting about it for weeks, but things came to a head a few days ago. We started fighting, and it got out of hand. Taruto got knocked out by one of Pai's attacks, and I used my powers to get him out of there before Pai killed him. I don't exactly know where on Earth I sent him, though. Pai and I continued fighting, and it's pretty obvious that he knocked me out and abandoned me. You said you found me near your house?"

"Yeah, you were lying on the sidewalk," Ichigo said. "I didn't know what else to do, so I brought you back here, since my parents are gone again."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring me to Blondie," Kisshu said.

"Blondie spent the whole day the day I found you yelling at me for being late, even though the reason I was late was that Aoyama broke up with me," Ichigo said. "I know he could care less about my feelings, so I decided that I'd bring you back here, rather than leave you to the mercy of that evil jerk."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. "Are you still working for him?"

"Doubtful, I pushed him out my window this morning," Ichigo said. "Why he tried to climb in my window is beyond me, though."

"Maybe he's insane," Kisshu suggested. He opened his eyes again, and flinched. "Uh… do you mind turning out the light?" he asked. Ichigo did so, and Kisshu sighed.

"Do you know if you can take human medicine?" Ichigo asked. "I have headache medicine."

"I'd need to know what's in it," Kisshu said.

"I'll get the bottle," Ichigo said, and went to the medicine cabinet, then pulled out some Advil. She took it back to Kisshu, and said, "Are you able to read it, or do you need me to do it?"

"Do you mind?" Kisshu said.

"No, but I might not be pronouncing some of this right," Ichigo said. "The ingredients all have weird names."

"I'll figure it out," Kisshu said.

Ichigo started reading out the ingredients, and when she was finished, Kisshu said, "I think that's fine."

"Okay, you need to swallow it whole, so I'll go get some water," Ichigo said. She left and came back with a glass of water, then poured out two pills. "Can you sit up?" she asked Kisshu.

"It's going to hurt, but yes," Kisshu said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He looked at Ichigo, who handed him the two pills and the water. He took them and drank some of the water, then put the rest down on Ichigo's bedside table.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep," Ichigo said. "It'll help the medicine work faster."

"I need to find Taruto," Kisshu said. "Pai could kill him, and if someone helped him, they'd probably go down too."

"The only person I can think of who would help Taruto is Pudding," Ichigo said. "I'll give her a call, k?"

"Be careful," Kisshu said. "I learned the hard way that even your closest friends can become your enemies."

"I will," Ichigo said. She got out her cell phone, ignored all the missed calls, and dialed Pudding's number.

Finally, after three rings, Pudding picked up. _"Hello na no da?" _she said.

"Pudding, it's Ichigo," Ichigo said. "Where are you?"

"_Home, why?" _Pudding asked.

"Because I don't want Ryou to overhear this," Ichigo said.

Pudding's voice was serious as she said, _"This has something to do with the aliens, right, na no da?"_

"Yes. Do you know where Taru-Taru is?" Ichigo asked.

"_Promise me you won't tell if I tell you," _Pudding said.

"Promise me the same," Ichigo replied.

"_Hai," _Pudding said.

"I promise," Ichigo said. "Can you tell me where Taru-Taru is?"

"_He's here with Pudding, but he needs to rest," _Pudding said. _"Why, Ichigo-oneechan?"_

"I've got Kisshu over here, in similar condition, and he's worried because he doesn't know where Taru-Taru is," Ichigo said.

"_Tell him Taru-Taru is safe," _Pudding said.

"I will," Ichigo said. "Pudding, Kisshu says Pai is still out to get them. Can you find a way to bring Taruto here, and maybe stay with me too? Kisshu says that Pai will kill Taruto and anyone who helped him."

"_Pudding can try to bring Taru-Taru to your place, but Pudding can't leave her siblings," _Pudding said. _"Pudding will make sure to be safe, though."_

"Alright," Ichigo said. "Do you think it's wise to get Lettuce on board?"

"_Not yet, na no da," _Pudding said. _"Lettuce-oneechan still won't disobey Ryou. We have to get her to see that he's evil before getting her to help us. And we definitely can't tell Mint-oneechan or Zakuro-oneechan."_

"I know," Ichigo said. "I'll tell Kisshu what you told me; you try to get Taruto here."

"_Pudding will try her best, na no da," _Pudding said. _"Oneechan, be careful."_

"I will, and you do the same," Ichigo said. She heard Pudding hang up, then snapped her phone shut.

Kisshu was looking at her, and she said, "Taruto is at Pudding's house, and she'll try to bring him here. I told her to be careful, and I know she will. We'll do our best, k?"

"Thanks," Kisshu said softly.

Ichigo smiled and said, "Sure. Go back to sleep, I'll be right here."

Kisshu nodded slightly before falling back to sleep.

**Okay, another idea, while I work on Kitten Love and think of ideas for Depression. Please review!**


	2. Concussion

**Namida Chapter 2:**

**Concussion**

Kisshu slept for another four hours before waking up again. Ichigo was sitting at her desk, and when he stirred, she said softly, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu opened his eyes, which were still slightly unfocused. "How's your headache?" Ichigo asked.

"Not any better," Kisshu said.

"Maybe you have a concussion," Ichigo suggested. "And if that's the case, you're going to need to take it easy for a while, or you'll make yourself worse."

"That's not good," Kisshu said. "It's going to be bad if Pai attacks while I can't fight. Did Pudding say if Taruto's okay?"

"She said he needed to rest, so I'm assuming he's been injured," Ichigo said. "Pudding's good at taking care of people, though, so he'll be fine as long as no one finds him. Pudding said she'll try to bring him over here, though."

"Good," Kisshu said. "I'd feel more comfortable if he was nearby."

Ichigo was about to say something, when her doorbell rang. She took a look out her window cautiously, and said, "I think it's Pudding's sister's teacher. I'll go look."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Ichigo ran downstairs and looked out the peephole. Sure enough, it was Pudding's sister's teacher, and she had Pudding and Taruto with her. Ichigo quickly opened the door, and said, "Come in."

They obeyed, and Ichigo quickly closed the door. "Toki-Sensei brought Pudding and Taru-Taru," Pudding said.

"Thanks, Toki-Sensei," Ichigo said.

"You're welcome," Toki-sensei said. "Pudding told me the situation, and I won't tell anyone. I'm going to stay with Pudding's siblings, and she wondered if she could stay with you."

"That's probably for the best," Ichigo said. "I don't think Pai knows about Pudding's siblings, so if they're separated from Pudding, they'll be safer. I'll put these two in the guest room, I've got Kisshu in my room."

"Is Kisshu okay?" Taruto asked.

"He's got a really bad headache, and I'm worried that he has a concussion," Ichigo said. "How are you?"

"Not too bad, Pudding took care of the injuries I had," Taruto said. "It wasn't anything serious, but I was pretty worried when Pudding said she didn't know where Kisshu was."

"Pudding spent a lot of time calming Taru-Taru down," Pudding said. "Taru-Taru's not back to full strength yet."

Toki-sensei sighed and said, "I have to get back to Pudding's siblings. Ichigo, please take care of her for me."

"I will," Ichigo said.

Toki-sensei nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Ichigo quickly locked it. "

"Why are all the curtains closed?" Taruto asked.

"So no one figures out that I'm home," Ichigo said. "Do you want to go see Kisshu?"

"Yes," Taruto said.

Ichigo nodded, and smiled when Pudding said, "No flying, remember?"

"I know," Taruto said. He looked at Ichigo, who said, "He's upstairs." She led the way up to her room, and called softly, "Kisshu?"

"Yeah?" Kisshu asked.

"Pudding and Taruto are going to be staying here as well," Ichigo said. "I brought Taruto."

Kisshu sat up fast, then winced. Taruto ran past Ichigo and jumped on Kisshu, hugging him. Kisshu hugged back. "Thank goodness you're okay," he said.

"Ichigo says she thinks you have a concussion, do you want me to see if she's right?" Taruto asked.

"Are you strong enough to use your powers?" Kisshu asked.

"Taru-Taru can't fly or teleport yet," Pudding said. "Pudding has to keep reminding him of that."

"I think I've got enough strength to find out what's wrong, but I won't be able to fix it," Taruto said.

"That's fine," Kisshu said.

Taruto nodded and put his hand on Kisshu's forehead, closing his eyes. Finally he sighed. "You've got a pretty bad concussion, it's lucky you don't have a crack in your skull," Taruto told Kisshu. "You're going to have to rest until I've got enough strength to heal you."

"But what if Pai attacks?" Kisshu asked.

"We'll protect you," Ichigo and Pudding said together.

"Neither one of you is in any condition to fight," Ichigo said. "If Pai comes to kill you, he'll have to get through us first. And we're not going to make it easy for him."

"Ichigo-oneechan, we need to do something about our pendants-" Pudding started to say, just as her pocket beeped. She dug around in her pocket, and her eyes widened. "It's my pendant," she whispered. "Ryou may have been using them to spy on us."

Suddenly Ryou's voice came over Pudding's pendant. _"Why are you helping those freaks!?" _he shouted, causing Kisshu to flinch.

Ichigo grabbed Pudding's pendant and said, "They are not freaks, and that's none of your damn business, you evil jerk. I told you to stay out of my life. If you come to my house one more time, I will personally kill you."

"_And Pudding?" _Ryou asked.

"Pudding will support Ichigo-oneechan," Pudding said. "Pudding is sick of you as well."

"Set the other Mews on us if you want, but they can go down as well," Ichigo said. "We're not going to let anyone harm Kisshu or Taruto. If you continue spying on us, you're going to regret it."

"_You're the only ones going down," _Ryou snarled. _"I'm sending the one person I trust to get the job done over to your house, and then we'll see who's really going down." _There was a click on the pendant, and the line went dead.

Ichigo sighed. "Probably sending Zakuro," she said. "Fine. Ryou can go down after we do something about the fact that Zakuro's probably going to be here any minute."

"What's going to happen? We can't fight, and I don't think I can stand up," Kisshu said.

Ichigo thought, then said, "We'll fight Zakuro off, you two stay here. Actually, the guest room would be safer, there aren't any trees near the windows. Kisshu, I'll help you, k?"

"Okay," Kisshu said. He sat up, and Ichigo gently pulled him into a standing position. Then she put her arms around his waist, and helped him walk to the guest room, followed by Taruto and Pudding. She helped him lie down on the bed, and put a hand on his cheek. "Take it easy, and we'll do the hard stuff," she said. Then she turned to Taruto. "No matter what you hear, stay here with Kisshu," she said sternly. "We don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay," Taruto said.

Ichigo went and looked at the window. It was already locked, but she still closed the curtains. Then she and Pudding transformed. Just in time, too; they heard the doorbell, and banging. The girls looked at each other, and Ichigo said, "Let's go, Pudding."

Pudding nodded, and they ran downstairs. Ichigo flung the door open, and was surprised to see Lettuce, not Zakuro. "Ryou sent you?" Ichigo asked.

"Hai, he wants you both to come back so he can undo the brainwash," Lettuce said.

Ichigo and Pudding looked at each other, puzzled. "We haven't been brainwashed, what gave him that idea?" Ichigo asked.

"The fact that he found out Kisshu and Taruto are staying here," Lettuce said.

"Damn him, Pudding knew he was spying on us," Pudding said. "Ryou is going down for this."

"Uh… what's going on?" Lettuce asked.

"Are you going to go back and tell Ryou everything if we tell you what's going on?" Ichigo asked. "We're not going to take chances, Lettuce. We need to protect Kisshu and Taruto, and if that means taking you down too, we're going to do it. We were expecting to have to take down Zakuro, though."

Lettuce sighed. "Ryou's evil, isn't he?" she asked. "That's what you're trying to say. And that's why you're so suspicious of everyone right now. I don't like the fighting, but I thought I had to obey Ryou because he created us. Why did you stop?"

"Did you even notice how Ryou treated me?" Ichigo asked. "I wasn't going to work for that jerk for much longer anyways. He's completely evil."

"Pudding loves Taru-Taru too much to obey the guy who wants to kill him," Pudding said. "Pudding won't let Taru-Taru die."

"Ichigo-san, what about Kisshu?" Lettuce asked.

"I don't know my feelings yet," Ichigo said. "I know I can't love Aoyama, because he can't accept me for who I am. But I'm not sure if I love Kisshu."

Lettuce sighed. "I think the fighting needs to stop," she said. "I'll join you guys, and stop listening to Ryou. He's prejudiced anyways."

"Good," Ichigo said. "Come in before you get seen. We'll explain, but you can't go back to the Café after this, Ryou could try to brainwash you- or find some way to make you tell him what we told you."

"Alright," Lettuce said. "I'm not really cut out for Café work anyways."

Ichigo sighed and let Lettuce in, then closed and locked the door. "Ichigo-san, if Kisshu and Taruto are here, where's Pai?" Lettuce asked.

"Hopefully nowhere nearby," Ichigo said grimly. "Let's go back upstairs, but keep it quiet; Kisshu's got a pretty bad concussion, and too much noise hurts him."

"O-okay," Lettuce said. She followed Ichigo and Pudding back upstairs. The door to the guest room was closed, so Ichigo knocked. Taruto opened it a crack, and Ichigo said, "Ryou didn't send Zakuro, he sent Lettuce, and she's agreed to stop listening to him as well. Can we come in?"

"Sure," Taruto said, opening the door. The girls went in, and Ichigo locked the door behind them. Then she sighed. "I have an idea," she said. "We should find a way to disable the tracking devices in our pendants. For right now, let's put them somewhere that Ryou can't hear us talking."

"The closet," Lettuce said. She took out hers, and Ichigo and Pudding took out theirs. Then they put their pendants in the closet and closed the door.

Ichigo sighed again and said, "You want the full story?"

"Hai," Lettuce said.

"I found Kisshu unconscious on the sidewalk near my house about five days ago," Ichigo said. "I brought him home, and tried to wake him up, but nothing worked. It wasn't till the morning of the fourth day after I found him that he woke up, and he told me what happened."

"And… what did happen?" Lettuce said.

Kisshu sat up, and said, "Pai, Taruto and I have been fighting about whether or not to form a truce, and the day Ichigo found me, things came to a head. We started fighting, and Taruto got knocked out. I used my powers to send him to Earth, and continued fighting Pai. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I think Pai probably knocked me out and dumped me on Earth."

"When I woke up after Kisshu sent me to Earth, I was in Pudding's house," Taruto said. "I don't really remember what happened either."

"Pudding found Taru-Taru on a sidewalk near her house," Pudding said. "Pudding took Taru-Taru home, and cared for his injuries. He didn't wake up for two days."

"I called Pudding after Kisshu woke up, and found out that she had Taruto," Ichigo said. "I asked her to bring him here, because Kisshu was really worried, and suggested that she stay here too. Toki-sensei is caring for her siblings right now."

"Is Pai still out to get you?" Lettuce asked Kisshu and Taruto.

"Most likely," Kisshu said. "I'd say it's definite that he told Deep Blue, which means we both have death warrants on our heads now. And knowing how loyal Pai is to him, I'd say Pai's probably trying to find us. It's probably only a matter of time before he thinks to come here. He knows perfectly well that if I woke up, I would come here first."

"Does he know where Pudding lives?" Ichigo asked.

"No, because I never go there," Taruto said. "The only reason I knew it was Pudding's house when I woke up is because she was sitting next to me. The only Mews' houses that he knows where they are are this house, and Lettuce's."

"Um… why does Pai know where I live?" Lettuce asked.

"He said something about doing research one night, and I followed him out," Kisshu said. "He was watching you sleep. I don't think that's research; I think he's got a thing for you. Unfortunately, he's so devoted to Deep Blue that I don't think he'll be like me, and let his heart speak for him."

Lettuce was now bright red, and Ichigo asked, "Lettuce, you wouldn't happen to have a crush on Pai, would you?"

Lettuce squeaked.

**Looks like some confessions need to be made… Review plz!**


	3. Confessions

**Namida Chapter 3: **

**Confessions**

The others smirked as Lettuce squeaked. "I take it I'm right?" Ichigo said.

Lettuce nodded and mumbled, "Yes…"

"Maybe that'll help us," Taruto said. "But first we have to find Pai."

"You and Kisshu are in no condition to do that," Ichigo said. "And we have to deactivate the tracking devices on our pendants."

"Let's get to work then," Lettuce said. She went to the closet and got their pendants out. "Ichigo-san, do you have a toolbox?" Lettuce asked.

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen," Ichigo said. She went downstairs and got it, then brought it back to Lettuce. Lettuce opened it up, and looked through it. "I don't see what I need," she said finally.

"Now what?" Ichigo asked.

Lettuce sighed. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "And I'm not great with mechanics anyways. I thought if I could look at the inner workings, I could figure it out, but I don't see the type of screwdriver I need. All of these are too big."

"I have another idea," Kisshu said. "Taruto and I might be able to deactivate them with our powers."

"Are you strong enough to do that?" Ichigo asked.

"I think so, and Taruto should be strong enough to do at least one," Kisshu said. "Hand them over."

The girls gave their pendants to Kisshu, and he handed one to Taruto. Both boys focused on the pendants in their hands, and their eyes began to glow. The girls were silent until Kisshu and Taruto's eyes stopped glowing. "I think that should do it," Kisshu said. He and Taruto handed back the pendants, and Ichigo said, "Thanks, both of you."

"Sure," Kisshu said. "I'm kind of hungry, is there anything to eat?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "I should have asked earlier, you probably haven't eaten much in the last week."

"Yeah," Kisshu said.

"Is lasagna okay?" Ichigo asked. "And do you want anything, Taruto?"

"What's lasagna?" Kisshu asked.

"It's pasta layered with meat, tomato sauce and cheese," Ichigo said. "It's really good."

"That does sound good," Kisshu said. "I still can't stand up, is it okay for me to eat up here?"

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo said. "I'll go get that. Taruto, do you want some?"

"Yes please," Taruto said.

Ichigo smiled and went downstairs. Lettuce followed her, and as she started getting the lasagna out, said, "Ichigo-san, what should I do?"

"About what?" Ichigo said.

"Pai," Lettuce said.

"If he has feelings for you, you may be the only one who can get through to him," Ichigo said. "Do you think you'll be safer here, or is it okay for you to be at home until we find Pai?"

"It's not my safety I'm concerned about," Lettuce said. "It might be better if I could stay here, since Kisshu said that Pai will most likely come here at some point, and I'm not going back to the Café."

"You're welcome to stay, but you should inform your parents," Ichigo said. "I don't think they'd be happy if you just disappeared."

"You're right," Lettuce said. "What should I tell them, though?"

"Do you trust them enough to tell them the truth?" Ichigo asked.

"I think so; they're usually very understanding," Lettuce said.

"Then tell them that you need to stay here to ensure your safety and theirs," Ichigo said. "If Pai or Ryou comes to your place, they could get involved, and then you'd have to protect them as well as fight."

"Okay," Lettuce said, and took out her cell phone, going to the living room as Ichigo took the lasagna out of the microwave. Ichigo brought the plates up to the guest room, and found the boys and Pudding still there. "It's pretty hot," she said, handing them the plates on two little trays she had found. She gave them forks too, and then said, "Don't eat too fast."

"Thanks," Kisshu said, and started eating. "This is really good," he said after two bites. "Did you make it?"

"No, my mom did," Ichigo said. "She made a lot, so I'd have some easy dinners while she and my dad are gone."

"Why do they leave you alone so much, na no da?" Pudding asked.

"I don't know, but it would be nice if they stayed home more," Ichigo sighed. "Unfortunately, if I say that, Dad will go back to treating me like a two-year-old."

"That doesn't sound fun," Kisshu said.

"It's not," Ichigo said. "I think he thinks I'm still a baby, despite evidence to the contrary. I wish he'd give up on that view and treat me the way I want to be treated- as a person who can make her own choices."

"I'm surprised he doesn't see that," Kisshu said. "I'm tired again, can I go back to sleep?"

"Yes, of course," Ichigo said. "It's probably not good to stay up for too long anyways."

Kisshu laid back on the bed, settling down against the pillows, and was asleep pretty quickly. Ichigo motioned to Pudding and Taruto, and they followed her into the hall.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have Kisshu keep getting up, can you two handle staying in my room?" Ichigo asked softly.

"Yep na no da," Pudding said. "Can Taru-Taru have the bed?"

"Yes, it's better that way," Ichigo said. "I'll go get you a sleeping bag, k?"

"K," Pudding said, as they saw Lettuce coming up the stairs.

"How'd it go?" Ichigo asked.

"They're not thrilled that I have to most likely miss some school until this is sorted out, but they won't tell anyone about me, and they're not going to disown me or anything," Lettuce said. "It could have been worse."

"Good," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's resting, I should stay with him. I'm getting Pudding a sleeping bag; do you want to sleep in my room or in the guest room with me? I'm giving Pudding and Taruto my room because I don't think Kisshu should be getting up much."

"I'll sleep in your room, if that's okay," Lettuce said.

"Sure," Ichigo said- just as they heard a noise from the guest room. The girls looked at each other, and opened the door. They found one of the windows broken, and Ryou with a knife, about to stab Kisshu, who was still asleep.

Without even transforming, Ichigo ran over, ripped the knife out of Ryou's hand, and said, "You're through. I warned you what would happen if you came back here." Then she transformed.

To the others' worry, Ryou smirked. "Kill me if you want to, but Kisshu will still die," he said. "I poisoned him before you came in."

"I'm going to make sure Kisshu survives," Ichigo snarled, and blasted Ryou with the most powerful Strawberry Surprise she had ever performed. Unsurprisingly, he disintegrated into ash.

Meanwhile, Taruto had gone over to Kisshu, and put a hand on his chest. "This is bad," he told the girls. "If we don't figure out a way to counteract the poison, he'll be dead by tomorrow morning."

The girls looked horrified. "But none of us can heal," Ichigo said.

"I can, but not right now, I'm still too weak from Pai's attacks to heal," Taruto said.

"Is it possible for one of us to give you power?" Lettuce asked.

"Ichigo might be able to, she's the strongest," Taruto said.

"Take my power, then," Ichigo said without hesitation.

Taruto nodded, and said, "Give me your hand."

Ichigo held out her hand, and felt Taruto start to pull the power out of her. About five minutes later, Taruto let go of her hand, and said, "I'm back to full strength. Thanks, Ichigo."

"Sure," Ichigo said a bit weakly.

"Ichigo-san, are you okay?" Lettuce asked.

"I'm just a bit dizzy," Ichigo said.

"Power transfers can do that," Taruto said. "You should sit down, and you guys have to stay quiet till I'm done."

"K," Ichigo said. She sat down in a chair, and watched as Taruto put his hand over Kisshu's heart. Taruto's hand began to glow after a minute, and the glow spread out over Kisshu's whole body. Then it started to sink in. Right before it all completely vanished, there was a flash, and then it vanished. Taruto took his hand away, and said, "That should do it, but someone needs to stay with him. I need to rest after that, can one of you stay?"

"I'll stay," Ichigo said.

"Okay," Taruto said. "Can I go get some sleep?"

"Yep, go to bed," Ichigo said. "I'll stay with Kisshu." She sat down next to the bed, dragging her chair over. The others left, Pudding helping Taruto back to Ichigo's room.

Kisshu started to stir about two hours later, alerting Ichigo. "Kisshu?" she asked softly.

"Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a little better, but my head still hurts," Kisshu said.

"Ryou came in here and poisoned you earlier," Ichigo said. "I'm glad Taruto's healing worked."

"When did Taruto get strong enough to heal?" Kisshu asked.

"When I gave him most of my power to make sure you wouldn't die," Ichigo said.

"You did that for me?" Kisshu asked.

"I don't want you to die," Ichigo said.

Kisshu turned his head to look at her. "Do you love me?" he asked.

Ichigo thought. Did she love Kisshu? She sure didn't love Aoyama, he was a jerk who couldn't accept her for who she was. Kisshu had always said he loved her, and while his mission was to kill her, he'd never even hurt her too badly. _I guess I should have realized that that meant something, _she thought, and made up her mind. "Yes, I do," she told Kisshu. His face lit up, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I've always dreamed of hearing you say that," Kisshu said softly. "This isn't a dream, right?"

"No, it's reality," Ichigo said, still smiling. "You're cute when you're happy."

Kisshu looked startled, and said, "Maybe I should be happy more often?"

"You like being cute?" Ichigo asked.

"I like being happy too," Kisshu said. "I think I'll be lots happier now that you love me."

"Good," Ichigo said. "I don't like seeing you sad, even though the way your ears droop is like beyond cute."

"You think my ears are cute?" Kisshu asked.

"Yep, they're adorable," Ichigo said.

"I like your cat ears," Kisshu said.

"Thanks," Ichigo said softly.

"What's that pile of dust over there?" Kisshu asked, pointing.

"That's what's left after I used my attack on Ryou," Ichigo said. "He got fried."

Kisshu's jaw dropped. "That must have been one hell of an attack," he said in awe.

Ichigo giggled. "I put a lot of power behind it," she said. "Ryou deserved it."

"Well, at least he can't hurt us anymore, and now we only have Pai to deal with," Kisshu said.

"Yep, that's a definite plus," Ichigo said. "We only have one person to deal with rather than two."

**That's it for tonight, minna. Please review, and sorry I didn't get around to posting anything for Kitten Love or Depression. **


	4. Keiichiro's Call

**Namida Chapter 4:**

**Keiichiro's Call**

Ichigo yawned, and Kisshu said, "Tired?"

"Yeah, it's after midnight," Ichigo said. "I was just waiting for you to wake up, since the others went to bed already. I guess I'll go find a sleeping bag."

"We could sleep together," Kisshu suggested. "Then you wouldn't have to find a sleeping bag."

"Are you going to do something weird?" Ichigo asked warily.

"No," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed. "Fine… scoot over," she said.

Kisshu's face lit up again, and he scooted over. Ichigo sleepily climbed in next to him, but squeaked when he snuggled against her. Kisshu opened one eye again. "What?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm just not used to sleeping with someone else," Ichigo said. She hesitantly lay down, and noticed Kisshu was already half-asleep. She sighed and closed her eyes too, letting him snuggle. Soon she was asleep as well.

The next morning Ichigo woke up to find her arms locked around Kisshu's waist, and him wide awake, smirking. She squeaked, turning dark red, and pulled her arms away quickly. "That's a new one," Kisshu commented, still smirking. "You're hugging me instead of the other way around."

Ichigo sighed and said, "You do realize that cats snuggle up to the warmest thing in the room, right?"

"You were still hugging me," Kisshu said happily. "I like hugs."

"How's your head this morning?" Ichigo asked, trying to change the subject.

"It still hurts, but it's better than yesterday," Kisshu said. "Can I get up for a while?"

"Can you stand?" Ichigo asked. "As of yesterday, you were saying you couldn't stand up."

"I think today's better," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed. "You can get up, but if you start getting dizzy or anything, it's back to bed," she said.

Kisshu brightened, and sat up, then put his feet on the floor, and stood up. Ichigo noticed right away that he was shaking, and said, "You'd better sit back down, you're shaking."

Kisshu sighed, and carefully sat back down on the bed. "I guess that was a bad idea, I'm really dizzy and my legs feel like water," Kisshu said.

"Lie back down," Ichigo said. "And close your eyes. It'll help the dizziness."

Kisshu did so, and found that it did help. "Go back to sleep," Ichigo said softly. "I'll be here."

"K…" Kisshu said. Five minutes later, he was sound asleep, and Ichigo sat down next to him on the bed, and then started stroking his hair. He sighed happily and leaned into her hand in his sleep.

About two hours later, Ichigo had stopped stroking Kisshu's hair, giving her arm a break. She was pretty calm from stroking his hair, so when her cell phone rang, it caused her to jump. Kisshu was startled too; his eyes snapped open, and he sat bolt upright as Ichigo grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID. "It's Keiichiro," she told Kisshu. "Try to stay quiet."

Kisshu nodded as Ichigo answered the phone. "What's up?" she asked.

"_Where's Ryou?" _Keiichiro asked. _"He said he was going to your house to reverse some brainwash that the aliens did on you."_

"Kisshu and Taruto did NOT brainwash any of us," Ichigo said. "Ryou's been using our pendants to spy on us, and when he found out Kisshu and Taruto were here, he broke the guest room window, and poisoned Kisshu. And earlier in the week he tried to climb in my bedroom window. The guy's insane."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. _"Why do you have Kisshu and Taruto at your house, and why is it impossible to contact your pendants?" _Keiichiro asked._ "And where is Pai, if you've got Kisshu and Taruto?"_

"I'm not telling, you'll either send Mint and Zakuro to kill the lot of us, or you'll call the police," Ichigo said. "For all I know, you've been in league with Blondie the whole time. I'm not trusting someone who was that close to Ryou with what's going on."

"_Can you at least tell me what happened to Ryou?" _Keiichiro asked. _"I wasn't planning on calling the police, or sending Mint and Zakuro to kill you, but judging by what you've told me and what I know of Ryou, there's something going on. I want to help you, not hurt you, Ichigo. I didn't call the police when Ryou came back here and claimed you pushed him out of your second-floor window, did I?"_

Ichigo sighed. "You've got a point," she said reluctantly. "Fine, but this isn't something I want to talk about over the phone. And if you're coming here, don't bring Mint and Zakuro. We still haven't decided whether or not they can be trusted."

"_You're sounding paranoid, but fine," _Keiichiro said. _"I'll be there soon." _He hung up.

Ichigo sighed and looked at Kisshu, who looked worried. "If we find out Keiichiro can't be trusted, he can go down as well," Ichigo said. "He's coming here, and I have to tell the others, k?"

"K," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled at him, and left, going to her room. She found the others in there, and they looked up. "Ichigo-san, we heard you talking, is someone else coming over?" Lettuce asked.

"Keiichiro, and he says he won't call the police or get Mint and Zakuro to kill us, so I might as well let him in," Ichigo said. "Frankly, the more people we have on board, the better. And Keiichiro can work Ryou's equipment."

"Good point," Taruto said. "How's Kisshu this morning?"

"Still unable to stand," Ichigo said. "We'll be having this meeting in the guest room, he tried standing this morning, and got really dizzy. I think it's going to be a few more days before he's back on his feet."

Taruto sounded grim as he said, "I'm nearly back to full strength, but we'll need to protect Kisshu if Pai comes here. Kisshu's a lot stronger than I am, and I think we're going to have to hope that Pai doesn't show up till he's better."

"Kisshu's stronger than you?" Ichigo asked.

Taruto sighed. "If Kisshu wanted to, he could have killed the lot of you in one battle," he said. "His skill with swords and Chimera Animas is second to none on our planet. Fortunately for you, he loves Ichigo far too much to use his full power on you guys. If he had used his full power in battle against you, you all would be dead, and we'd be ruling this planet."

The girls looked shocked. Taruto noticed, and said, "Why do you think Kisshu was sent to Earth first, even though he's only fourteen? The fighting instructors at our school said there hasn't been a warrior as good as Kisshu since before our people left Earth. They stopped teaching him after a while, since he was better than they were."

"Wow…" Ichigo said. The doorbell rang then, and she said, "You all go to the guest room; I'll go see if that's Keiichiro."

The others headed out as Ichigo ran downstairs and looked through the peephole. It was Keiichiro, and he seemed to be alone, so Ichigo hesitantly opened the door, and said, "Come in."

Keiichiro followed her in, and watched as she locked the door. "We're meeting in the guest room; come upstairs," Ichigo said.

"Okay," Keiichiro said, and followed her up the stairs. Ichigo knocked on the now closed door, and said, "It's fine, can I come in?"

"Yep," Pudding said, and opened the door. Ichigo and Keiichiro went in, and Pudding closed the door behind them.

Keiichiro sighed. "So what's the story, and why are you all so on edge?" he asked. "Ichigo told me she'd take me down if I told the police."

"I found Kisshu unconscious on the sidewalk near my house after the last time I was at the Café," Ichigo said. "I brought him back here, but he didn't wake up until the morning of the fourth day after I found him. He explained that he and Taruto had been fighting with Pai over whether or not to form a truce. He apparently got Taruto out of there before Pai could kill him, but Pai also knocked Kisshu out, and abandoned him here."

"Pudding found Taru-Taru on the sidewalk near her house, na no da," Pudding said. "Taru-Taru was injured, so Pudding brought him home and took care of him. Then Ichigo-oneechan called, and said that she had Kisshu-oniichan here, and asked if Pudding could bring Taru-Taru here, and stay as well. Pudding told Toki-sensei the situation, and she agreed to help by looking after Pudding's siblings while Pudding stayed here."

"Ryou sent me here saying that he needed Ichigo and Pudding to come to the Café so he could undo some brainwash," Lettuce said. "They explained that Ryou was evil, and I decided to join them. Ryou's racist anyways."

"Ryou broke into this room by breaking the window yesterday," Ichigo said. "He poisoned Kisshu, but I got to him before he could stab Kisshu as well. I used the most powerful attack I could on Ryou, and he turned into ash. I gave Taruto most of my power in order to counteract the poison."

"And the pendants?" Keiichiro asked.

"That was Ichigo's idea," Taruto said. "We deactivated the tracking devices with our powers, so that you guys wouldn't be able to spy on us. Ichigo suggested that, though."

Keiichiro sighed. "What about Pai?" he asked.

"He's probably still after us," Kisshu said. "And he'll eventually come here, because he knows that this is where I would come. I just hope I'm recovered before he gets here."

"You're not?" Keiichiro asked.

"Taruto only counteracted the poison, he didn't have enough strength to also heal the pretty bad concussion I've got," Kisshu said. "I'm getting better, but I can't stand up yet. That also means I can't fly and teleport."

"We'll protect you," Ichigo said. "But you're right, we'll be better off if you're fully recovered before Pai gets here."

"What are we going to do about Pai when he does come?" Taruto asked. "I don't want to kill him."

"Lettuce might be able to convince him to join us, but if that doesn't work, we'll at the very least have to defeat him. We can't give in," Ichigo said.

"Why would Lettuce be able to convince Pai to join us?" Keiichiro asked.

"We think he has a thing for her," Kisshu said. "And Lettuce returns that feeling. The only problem is that he's not like me. He wouldn't normally let his heart speak for him. He's always trying to be logical. He bases everything on logic rather than feelings and emotions. You've seen how emotionless he is; it's not going to be easy. And Lettuce is the only Mew who's got a chance at this."

Keiichiro sighed again. "Alright. I won't call the police, even though incinerating Ryou is illegal," he said. "Do you want me to get Mint and Zakuro on board?"

"Zakuro is fine, but I'm not sure about Mint," Ichigo said. "She had a crush on Ryou, it might be dangerous if she finds out that I killed him. She could easily go to the police."

"Zakuro and Mint are pretty close, wouldn't it be better to include them both?" Keiichiro asked. "You've already told me that you'll take down anyone who tries to hurt Kisshu and Taruto, and Mint's not exactly going to be a hard target."

Ichigo sighed and looked at the others. "What do you guys think?" she asked.

"We might as well, and they can go down if they betray us," Kisshu said. The others nodded.

Ichigo nodded and said, "Keiichiro, go get them, and explain what's going on. We'll be here."

"Will do," Keiichiro said, and headed out.

"What should we do now?" Ichigo asked- just as the air began to ripple.

**CLIFFIE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Review NOW!**


	5. Pai

**Namida Chapter 5:**

**Pai**

As the air began to ripple, the girls transformed. Just in time, as Pai appeared, looking angry. Ichigo, Lettuce and Pudding moved in front of Kisshu and Taruto protectively. "We won't let you harm them any further, Pai," Ichigo said. "If you want Kisshu and Taruto, you're going to have to go through us first."

"Then that's what I'll do," Pai said. "They've betrayed Deep Blue, they're both going down."

"Damn it, Pai, you know Deep Blue doesn't intend to help us," Kisshu said. "Why are you so dead set against cooperation, when it's the best thing for everyone?"

"You don't understand," Pai said coldly. "This is the only-"

"No, YOU don't understand," Taruto said, his voice equally cold. "This is not the only way to solve things, and despite the fact that you won't admit it, this planet is too polluted for our race to live comfortably anyways. We could use Mew Aqua to save our people, but do you care? NO! They're dying while you act as Deep Blue's puppet. I sometimes wonder if Deep Blue means more to you than your own people!"

"Deep Blue is one of us, he's our leader," Pai said.

"NO, Kaio-sama is our leader," Kisshu said. "Deep Blue's just a talking ball of light that showed up and brainwashed everyone into thinking that he's going to save us. Well, he's not. Taruto and I have figured out the truth, why can't you, Mr. Genius?"

Pai scowled and took out his fans. The Mews, getting the idea, got out their weapons as well. Pai pointed his fan at them, and shouted, "_Fuu Hyou Senn!" _

Spears of ice shot of the fan, and Ichigo formed a shield. The spears bounced off, and Lettuce said, "Pai, why do we have to fight? We're from the same planet, we shouldn't be fighting. Kisshu and Taruto are right, this isn't the best way!"

"There is no other way," Pai said.

"We told you, we can use Mew Aqua on our planet!" Taruto said. "Weren't you listening?"

"Their blonde leader will kill us," Pai said emotionlessly.

"I killed him yesterday," Ichigo said. "He can't kill you, he's a pile of ash."

"We've convinced Keiichiro to go along with this," Lettuce said. "He'll get the others on board. You're the only one still objecting. Why is that?"

To their surprise, Pai looked down. "He's got our parents," Pai whispered. "If I disobey, he'll kill them."

"Mom and Dad got captured?" Taruto asked, scared.

Pai nodded.

"Who's Deep Blue's human host?" Kisshu asked. "If the Mews kill him rather than you, we can get your parents back."

"Treehugger," Pai said. Then he sighed. "Kisshu, give me one of your swords."

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"I need an excuse for why I came back without killing you," Pai said.

Kisshu sighed, then summoned one of his swords. Pai took it, and stabbed himself in the shoulder, wincing. Then he cut a gash in his other arm, and handed the sword to Kisshu, who made it disappear. Pai nodded to them, and teleported out. Ichigo let the shield drop, and said, "I assume 'Treehugger' means that jerk who dumped me?"

Kisshu nodded. He was looking tired again. "Kisshu, go back to sleep," Ichigo said. "We'll handle this."

Kisshu just nodded again, and settled back, falling asleep pretty quickly. "Taruto, stay with him," Ichigo said softly. "We'll go handle killing the treehugger."

Taruto nodded, and the girls headed out. Soon after they left the house, Mint and Zakuro ran up. "Keiichiro said we need to help you," Mint said.

"There's been a new development," Ichigo said. "We have to kill Aoyama, or Pai and Taruto's parents will die. Deep Blue has them, and the only way to kill him is to kill his human host. We need to figure out how to kill Aoyama without getting arrested."

Mint sighed. "I know how to do it," she said. "He asked me out after he dumped you, Ichigo. I'll tell him to meet me at Café Mew Mew, and we can all ambush him."

"When is your date?" Ichigo asked.

"Tonight," Mint said. "I'll call him and tell him I had to work late and can he come meet me."

"Good," Ichigo said.

Mint took out her cell phone and dialed a number. The other Mews stayed silent as Mint waited, then said, "Hi, it's Mint. I have to work late, can you come to the Café instead of my house? Really? That's great, thanks." She hung up. "Let's go, he'll be there in about an hour," Mint said.

"Let's go then," Ichigo said, and with her friends, ran to Café Mew Mew.

They got there with half an hour to spare, quickly explained the plan to Keiichiro, and transformed, then settled down to wait.

Precisely at 7:30, there was a knock on the door, and the Mews summoned their weapons as Mint called, "Come in!"

Aoyuck came in, and stopped dead when he saw them. "Wh-what's going on?" he asked.

"For the future of the Earth, you're going to die," Ichigo said.

Aoyuck turned to run, but Zakuro's whip quickly dragged him back- right into the combined attacks of Ichigo and Lettuce. Now all that was left was a pile of soggy ash. "Yuck," Mint said.

The others giggled. "I'll clean this up, you guys go make sure Kisshu and Taruto are alright," Keiichiro said.

The girls nodded, and detransformed. Then they all headed back to Ichigo's house. Taruto obviously heard the door open, because he flew down the stairs, and looked relieved. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Fine, Aoyama's now a pile of soggy ash which is currently being mopped up by Keiichiro," Ichigo said. "How's Kisshu?"

"Not much better," Taruto said. "I'm trying to keep him awake; he had some nightmare earlier, and I had to use my powers to wake him up. He won't tell me what the nightmare's about though."

"I'll go," Ichigo said. "Maybe he'll talk to me." She climbed the stairs and went to the guest room. Kisshu was sitting up, but he looked really tired. Ichigo came and sat on the bed next to him. "Koneko-chan?" he asked tiredly.

"I'm here," Ichigo said. "Taruto said you had a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm too tired…" Kisshu said. "Taruto wouldn't let me sleep. Will you sleep with me?"

"Sure," Ichigo said, smiling. "Let me just tell the others, everyone except Keiichiro is here."

"K…" Kisshu said sleepily.

Ichigo went back downstairs, and said, "I'm going to go sleep with Kisshu, so you all can do what you want now. Kisshu's really tired."

"You're sleeping with him now?" Mint asked.

"Yeah, it's comfy," Ichigo said. "I'm going back to him, k?"

"Night," the others said, and Ichigo went back upstairs. Kisshu was almost asleep when she got into bed with him, but he still snuggled up to her, and she put her arms around him.

**I KNOW it's insanely short, but I promised I'd update again tonight, so I'm posting before I completely collapse. Review and please don't flame me for the shortness- or anything else, please. :) **


	6. Chocolate Mousse

**Namida Chapter 6:**

**Chocolate Mousse**

The next morning, Ichigo woke up to find Kisshu still sleeping. She noticed he still looked exhausted, and started stroking his hair. He made a happy noise in his sleep, and leaned into her hand. Ichigo smiled slightly, and continued stroking his hair, noticing that it was really soft.

Kisshu started to wake up about an hour later, and noticed that Ichigo was stroking his hair. It felt nice, so he decided to pretend to be asleep for a little while longer. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo's arm was getting tired, so she stopped. "Did you have to stop? That felt nice," Kisshu said sleepily. Ichigo squeaked.

"How long have you been _awake?" _she asked, turning red.

"About five minutes," Kisshu said. "I like that sensation…"

"I've been doing that for about an hour, my arm needs a break," Ichigo said. "How are you feeling today?"

"I think I'm a little better, but I'm not sure I should be standing," Kisshu said. "Can you go see if Taruto's feeling strong enough to do something about this?"

"Sure, but you're going to have to let go of me first," Ichigo said, gesturing to Kisshu's arms, which were locked around her waist.

Kisshu turned slightly pink, and let go. "That is so KAWAII!" Ichigo said.

"What is?" Kisshu asked.

"You blushing," Ichigo said. She surprised them both by kissing his cheek, then left to find Taruto.

She found him and Pudding in the kitchen. Pudding appeared to be cooking, and Taruto was watching her hopefully. "Morning," Ichigo said.

"Hi Ichigo-oneechan," Pudding said cheerfully. "Lettuce-oneechan went home."

"Okay," Ichigo said.

"How's Kisshu?" Taruto asked.

"Wondering if you're feeling strong enough to help him with the fact that he still can't stand up," Ichigo said.

"I think so," Taruto said. "I'll go see." He walked up the stairs, followed by Ichigo. Kisshu was sitting up when they got to the guest room, and he looked somewhat frustrated. Taruto went over and said, "I think I can take care of the concussion, so lie back." Kisshu obeyed, and Taruto said, "Ichigo, stay quiet." Ichigo nodded, and sat down to watch as Taruto put a hand on Kisshu's forehead. Kisshu fell back to sleep, and Taruto closed his eyes. His hand began to glow, and he stayed like that for ten minutes before the glow faded. Then he took his hand away, and said softly, "He needs to sleep off the healing. He should be better when he wakes up. Will you stay with him?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down as Taruto left.

Kisshu started to wake up about two hours later, and Ichigo waited till he opened his eyes, then asked, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu sat up and looked at her. "I feel a lot better," he said. "My headache's gone, too."

"Good, Taruto said you'd be better when you woke up," Ichigo said. "Are you able to get up now?"

"I think so," Kisshu said. He put his feet on the floor, and stood up. Ichigo noticed this time he wasn't shaky. "Can we go downstairs?" he asked. "I'm hungry."

"Sure," Ichigo said. She watched Kisshu carefully on their way downstairs, but he didn't have any trouble walking. As they came into the kitchen, Pudding looked up. "Breakfast was a while ago, but Pudding managed to keep Taru-Taru from eating it all. There's some on the table."

"Thanks Pudding," Ichigo said. She and Kisshu went to the table, and found some kind of bread, and fruit. Ichigo noticed that all the bananas were gone, and asked, "Pudding, what happened to the bunch of bananas?"

"Taru-Taru told Pudding that Kisshu-oniichan is very allergic to bananas, na no da," Pudding said. "Pudding threw them in the outside garbage to make sure Kisshu-oniichan wouldn't get sick."

"Thanks Pudding," Kisshu said. "Even the smell makes me sick to my stomach."

"That sounds pretty bad," Ichigo said.

Kisshu shuddered. "The one time I ate a banana, I was not only throwing up a lot, I also had a fever that wouldn't go down. It's a good thing Pai was around, he's a healer too. That was not fun."

Ichigo sighed. "Well, I'm glad I don't like them that much, then," she said. "One of my dad's friends is obsessed with bananas. And my dad likes banana bread a lot."

"You can make bread out of them?" Kisshu asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "I like my mom's chocolate bread better, though."

"I LOVE chocolate," Kisshu said.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't love chocolate," Ichigo said. "Have you ever had chocolate mousse?"

"What's that?" Kisshu asked.

"It's melted chocolate mixed with heavy cream," Ichigo said. "It's delicious, should I make some later?"

"YEAH!" Kisshu said excitedly.

Ichigo smiled at his excitement. "I have to go get heavy cream," she said. "Stay here, k?"

"But I want to come," Kisshu said pleadingly.

"And what are you going to do about your ears and clothes?" Ichigo asked. "I don't want the people at the grocery store to panic. Relax, I'll be back soon."

Kisshu sighed. Ichigo gave him a stern look, and went to get her shoes. Luckily it was now Saturday, so people wouldn't wonder why she wasn't in school. She walked to the grocery store, unaware that she was being followed.

Naturally, the person following her was Kisshu, and he was having fun. She hadn't noticed him, so he could follow her without being yelled at. He watched as she entered a store, and decided to wait for her.

About twenty minutes later, she came out carrying two bags, and Kisshu said, "Hi Koneko-chan!" He snickered when she jumped.

"Kisshu! You nearly gave me a heart attack," Ichigo said. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay home!"

"I got bored," Kisshu said. "Why are people staring at us?"

Ichigo looked over at a group of people who were staring and whispering, and said, "It might have something to do with the fact that I appear to be human, and up until last week, you were attacking Tokyo. Let's go, before they call the police or something.

Suddenly two voices called out, "Ichigo!?"

"Okay, NOW we're screwed," Ichigo said as two girls ran up to them. "Hi Moe, hi Miwa."

"Ichigo, what are you doing with him!?" Miwa asked.

"I told him to stay home, but he didn't listen, which is why he scared the living daylights out of me when I came out of the store," Ichigo said. "Apparently he followed me here."

"Wait, why is the alien attacking Tokyo staying with you?" Miwa asked.

"Any interest in discussing this somewhere without an audience?" Ichigo asked.

"Fine, but you ARE going to explain this," Moe said. "Are we going to your house?"

"Fine…" Ichigo sighed. "Kisshu, teleport back, I don't think we need more people looking at us."

Kisshu sighed. "Fine…" he teleported back to Ichigo's house. Ichigo turned to Moe and Miwa. "Let's go."

Her friends followed her home, and went in with her. Ichigo headed to the kitchen to put the foods away, then went back to the living room, where she found Pudding, Taruto and Kisshu looking rather wary, and Moe and Miwa looking curious. She sighed. "Do you want the full story?" she asked. "If I tell you, you HAVE to promise not to tell anyone else, including your families. It'll put a lot of people in danger, including me."

Miwa sighed. "We won't tell, but we would like the full story," she said. "We've been protecting you forever, if you're in danger, we need to know what's going on so we can help."

"Well, the first thing that you need to know is that I'm Mew Ichigo," Ichigo said. "That blonde jerk who previously owned Café Mew Mew infused me with cat genes against my will."

"Okay, so he's the first one to beat up?" Miwa asked eagerly.

"Um… can I finish?" Ichigo asked. "I think you should hear the rest before going into 'destroy' mode."

Her friends nodded, and Ichigo said, "Up till last Tuesday, we Mews were all fighting the aliens. Tuesday was the day Aoyama dumped me, and while I was walking home after work, I found Kisshu unconscious on my sidewalk. I brought him home, but he didn't wake up for four days. When he did wake up, he said Pai, one of the other aliens, had knocked him out in a fight they were having over whether or not to form a truce. And I had Pudding bring Taruto here, because I knew it would be safer for us to be together. Both Ryou and Pai were out to get us, and Ryou broke in here to try to kill Kisshu, because up till today, Kisshu couldn't fight. His fight with Pai resulted in him getting a pretty bad concussion, and I guess Ryou saw that as his chance. I basically incinerated Ryou with my attack, and helped Taruto save Kisshu after Ryou poisoned him."

Ichigo paused, then continued, "Pai showed up a while later, and attacked us. We started talking after I deflected his attack, and he revealed that their evil leader had captured his parents to make sure he wouldn't betray him. He told us the only way to kill his leader was to kill his human host, so we did that. We haven't seen Pai since, though."

"So we don't get to beat up Ryou?" Miwa asked.

"No, because he's currently a pile of ash in my trash can," Ichigo said. "You're not going to tell, right?"

"Right," Miwa and Moe said together.

"Ryou would have gotten his ass kicked by us anyways," Moe said. "Is there someone else we can beat up?"

"No," Ichigo said. "Sorry."

"We already beat up Aoyama, and then he disappeared," Miwa said. "I don't suppose you know anything about that?"

"Fine… the Mews teamed up to kill him because he was the aliens' leader's human host," Ichigo said.

"Good riddance," Moe said. "Is that it?"

"Yup," Ichigo said.

"So that means you can go make chocolate mousse now, right?" Kisshu asked hopefully.

"Chocolate mousse?" Miwa asked.

"Yeah, Koneko-chan went to the store to get heavy cream," Kisshu said. "She said she'd make chocolate mousse."

"Fine, I'll go make it, but it does take a few hours to cool," Ichigo said. "Which means you can't have it right away, got that?"

Kisshu's ears drooped. Ichigo giggled. "Your ears are so CUTE!" she said. "I'll go get started on the chocolate mousse, k?"

"Yay!" Kisshu said.

Moe and Miwa followed Ichigo to the kitchen, and Miwa said, "Are you two together?"

"Yup," Ichigo said. "Don't worry, Kisshu would never hurt me. So don't scare him, k?"

"Fine," Moe said. "We have to get home, have fun with the mousse."

"I will," Ichigo said. "I don't exactly know when I'm going back to school, though."

"Well, we'll keep the idiots under control when you get back," Moe said. "We're always happy to beat them up."

"I've noticed," Ichigo said dryly. "Just be careful, k?"

"We will," Moe said. She and Miwa headed out, and Ichigo got the ingredients for chocolate mousse out.

When it was done, she put it in the fridge, and turned to see Kisshu looking at her. "Kisshu, you're drooling," she told him.

Kisshu turned red and wiped his mouth. "It smelled good…" he said.

"Well, now it has to cool," Ichigo said. "You can have some after dinner, it'll be ready by then."

"But that's _hours _from now," Kisshu moaned.

"You'll survive," Ichigo said. "Let's go do something else, that'll take your mind off of dessert."

"What should we do?" Kisshu asked.

"Have a tickle war," Ichigo said. To her surprise, Kisshu squeaked and teleported. Sighing, she went to find Taruto. He and Pudding were watching TV in the living room, and Ichigo asked, "Taruto, I told Kisshu we should have a tickle war, and then he squeaked and teleported off. What was that about?"

"Kisshu's extremely ticklish," Taruto said. "Just mentioning tickle wars makes him run for it. He's probably under the bed in the guest room, but if he's not, tell me, and I'll find him."

"K," Ichigo said, and went up to the guest room. Then she knelt, and looked under the bed. Sure enough, Kisshu was down there, and as he squeaked again, she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know if you were ticklish or not. We don't have to have a tickle war if you don't want to. Can you come out?"

"You promise not to tickle me?" Kisshu asked.

"Yep, sorry about that," Ichigo said.

Kisshu sighed and came out from under the bed. "Don't you ever sweep under there?" he asked.

Ichigo came over and started brushing the dust off of him. "We don't usually have guests, so we only really clean if there's someone coming over," she explained. "I wasn't exactly expecting anyone, or I would have cleaned."

"Oh well," Kisshu said. "Do you think the chocolate mousse is ready?"

"Honestly, I just finished it," Ichigo said. "Let's go do something that'll take your mind off the mousse."

"I've got an idea," Kisshu said. "Let's go to your room and close the door."

"Why?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"So the runt and the monkey don't come in," Kisshu said innocently.

Still suspicious, but curious, Ichigo said, "Fine…"

Kisshu smirked, and went to her room. When she came in, he closed the door, and looked around. "It's pink in here," he said.

"I like pink," Ichigo said.

Kisshu smirked and sat down on the bed. Ichigo hesitantly sat next to him. Kisshu's smirk faded a bit, and he said, "You seem kind of nervous."

"I get the sense that when you smirk like that, you're thinking of something perverted," Ichigo said.

"Koneko-chan, why did you reject me so much?" Kisshu asked.

"I didn't like being called a toy, it made me feel bad about myself," Ichigo said. "And since you called me that repeatedly, I started to think that you didn't really like me."

She was startled when Kisshu buried his face in his hands. Even though he didn't make a sound, Ichigo saw his shoulders shaking, and asked, "Kisshu, why are you crying?"

Kisshu mumbled something that sounded sort of like, "Because I'm horrible…."

"You're not horrible," Ichigo said. "You just don't seem to always know how to sense others' feelings. But you can work on that, right?"

Kisshu just sighed. "Come on, don't get depressed," Ichigo said. She put her arms around him, and he looked at her, tears still running down his face.

"Why do you love me?" Kisshu asked.

"I love you because you accept me for who I am," Ichigo said. "And it doesn't hurt that you're really hot. And you have cute ears. And you're not the type to cheat. And you know how to have fun. See? Lots of reasons."

"Really?" Kisshu asked, a bit more cheerful.

"Really," Ichigo said with a smile, and kissed him.

**Off to work on other things; please review while I'm busy, k?**


	7. Pai's Humiliation

**Namida Chapter 7:**

**Pai's Humiliation **

Kisshu and Ichigo were still kissing when they heard teleportation, and jumped apart, bright red. They both looked at the intruder, who happened to be Pai.

"I suppose I interrupted something there?" Pai sighed, noticing Kisshu glaring at him and Ichigo looking totally embarrassed.

"YES! What are you doing in Ichigo's room anyways?" Kisshu asked testily.

"Taruto and the monkey Mew won't listen to me, so I came to find you, hoping you'd listen," Pai said.

"Uh…. why won't Taruto and Pudding listen to you?" Kisshu asked.

"They're staring at a box in the living room, I believe humans call it a 'TV'," Pai said. "What they're watching is beyond me. Anyways, they're not paying attention, and Taruto yelled at me for talking, so I figured I'd come tell you what's going on. I'll tell Taruto later."

"So what's up? Did you get Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako back?" Kisshu asked.

"I got them back, and they're currently with Keiichiro," Pai said. "They aren't injured, just a bit scared. I explained the situation to them after Keiichiro said that the Mews had succeeded in killing Aoyama, and they've agreed to help with the idea of forming a truce."

"Oh, so you finally got it through your head that we were right?" Kisshu asked acidly.

"I already told you, I had to obey Deep Blue, or Mom and Dad would die!" Pai said.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to give me a bad concussion or injure Taruto, did you?" Kisshu asked. "If you were just doing that for show, you could have just kicked us out and then used that machine thing to keep us out. But NO, you had to attack us as well! I frankly think you went too far this time, Pai."

"Was it really that bad? Or are you just blowing things out of proportion again?" Pai asked.

Before Kisshu could say anything, Ichigo glared at Pai and said, "Kisshu was unconscious for four days after you knocked him out, and when he woke up, I had to speak in a whisper and turn out the lights because he was in so much pain. If Taruto hadn't healed him this morning, he'd still be unable to stand up. Does that answer your question?"

Pai looked shocked, and said, "Four _days_?"

"I thought he was in a coma," Ichigo said. "And I still don't exactly know what caused him to wake up."

"I'd better check this out," Pai said.

"Taruto already took care of it, and I don't think I want the guy who tried to kill me doing weird things with his power on me," Kisshu said.

"Kisshu, you _know _Taruto's healing training isn't complete," Pai said. "You're lucky he managed to counteract the poison Ryou injected you with. And I'm still the stronger healer."

"You're just going to hurt me again," Kisshu said. "Why should I trust someone who would try to kill his younger brothers?"

Pai sounded disgruntled as he said, "You're adopted."

Kisshu threw himself facedown on Ichigo's bed and said in a muffled voice, "Why do you bring that up every time you get mad at me? It's hard enough having no parents. You don't have to constantly remind me that I'm basically a charity case."

"Taruto likes you," Pai said.

"That's because I didn't try to kill him. You don't like me, do you Pai?" Kisshu asked. "I don't really understand why, but you don't seem to like me very much."

Pai sighed. "Kisshu, I do like you, but it's not exactly easy living with two younger brothers who keep making comments like, "Go play with the fish"."

"So you tried to kill us?" Kisshu asked, not taking his face out of Ichigo's bed. "I was under the impression that most siblings have fights and tease each other. You're too hung up on science and logic to have emotions like the rest of us. Emotions are what make us stronger, Pai. Frankly, I'm amazed Lettuce has a crush on you; she actually has emotions. Why she likes you is beyond me."

"Lettuce…. loves me?" Pai asked.

"You didn't notice?" Ichigo asked.

"Uh…" Pai said.

"Pai doesn't notice things that have to do with real emotions," Kisshu said. "He's an emotionless zombie. And like a zombie, his smile is creepy."

"Kisshu, you're pushing it," Pai said.

"I still didn't try to kill you or Taruto, did I?" Kisshu asked. "I don't suppose you mentioned to Aunt Yuki that Taruto almost died this time. If I hadn't sent him to Earth, you and I both know he'd be dead."

"All I said was that we had a fight," Pai said.

Kisshu sat up, then teleported. "Now you've done it," Ichigo said.

Pai glared at her, and started to teleport. Ichigo grabbed him and yanked him out of the teleportation hole. "YOU are not going anywhere," she snarled. "Do you have to make Kisshu miserable?"

"Since when did you care?" Pai asked disgruntledly.

"Since I realized that Kisshu is the only person who accepts me for who I am, and I love him," Ichigo said.

"So you made his dream come true at long last?" Pai asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ichigo said.

Suddenly Kisshu teleported back in- but he wasn't alone. A middle-aged Cyniclon woman with Taruto's orange eyes was with him, and she looked MAD. Pai gulped as she said in a dangerous tone, "You ATTACKED your brothers!?"

"Uh…." Pai said nervously.

"Well?" the woman asked. "And no lying or sugarcoating the truth."

Pai sighed dejectedly, and said, "Yes…"

"And your reasoning was…?" the woman said.

"We were arguing about forming a truce, and things got out of hand because I wasn't listening," Pai sighed. "I knocked Taruto out, and Kisshu sent him to Earth to keep me from killing him. And then I knocked Kisshu out and abandoned him on Earth as well."

Pai's mother looked over at Ichigo, and said, "Kisshu was unconscious for four days?"

"Hai," Ichigo said. "And if Taruto hadn't healed him this morning, he'd still be unable to stand without getting very dizzy. Taruto said he was lucky he didn't have a crack in his skull."

"And how is Taruto?" Pai's mother asked.

"Currently, he's fine, I don't know about after he was sent to Earth by Kisshu," Ichigo said. "My friend Pudding took him home and took care of him."

"Is Taruto here?" Pai's mother asked.

"He's downstairs, should I get him?" Ichigo asked.

"If you don't mind," Pai's mother said.

"I'll go now," Ichigo said. She went downstairs, and found Pudding and Taruto glued to some cartoon. She walked over and turned off the TV, then said, "Taruto, your mom's here and she wants to see you. Pudding, you should come too."

"Okay, but later let's talk about interrupting people," Taruto said. "We were watching that!"

"Talk to your mom, not me," Ichigo said, and, noticing they were looking longingly at the TV, grabbed both by the hand and dragged them upstairs. She went to her room, and said, "I brought Pudding and Taruto."

"Taruto, are you okay?" his mother asked.

"I'm fine, Mom," Taruto said. "Pudding took care of me after Pai tried to kill me."

"Thank you, Pudding," Pai and Taruto's mother said.

"You're welcome, ma'am," Pudding said.

"Please call me Yuki," Yuki said. She looked at Ichigo and said, "You too."

"Thanks, Yuki," Ichigo said.

Yuki nodded and turned to Pudding. "How did you find Taruto?" she asked.

"Pudding found Taru-Taru on her sidewalk, na no da," Pudding said. "Taru-Taru was pretty beat up, so Pudding took him home. Taru-Taru didn't wake up for two days. Pudding had to keep reminding him not to teleport or fly, since he wasn't strong enough for a while." She noticed Yuki was looking less and less happy, and said worriedly, "Did Pudding say something wrong?"

Yuki smiled at her and said, "No, I was just very angry to learn that all that is Pai's work. Pai is in a LOT of trouble right now."

Pai gulped as Yuki turned to him and said, "For starters, you are now grounded for eternity- or until I decide otherwise, and you also have to apologize _sincerely _to your brothers, and a double apology to Kisshu, for reminding him yet again that he's adopted. You should remember that whether he's adopted or not, he is still your brother, and that means you are NOT allowed to harm him, no matter what the reason. Oh, and your father has come up with a rather interesting punishment, so I believe I'll tell the others before you both apologize to your brothers and go off to do your father's punishment." She turned to the others and said, "My husband Hayako has decided that in light of the seriousness of Pai's behavior, he should be forced to do some things that are not exactly in his nature. For one thing, he's going to be fixing the broken window in the other room, but the other thing he now has to do…" she paused, then said evilly, "He now has to confess his love to Lettuce. And yes, Kisshu, you may videotape it."

Kisshu now looked insanely happy, while Pai looked horrified. Taruto, Ichigo and Pudding were snickering at the look on Pai's face. "Would you like me to call Lettuce and have her come here?" Ichigo asked Yuki.

"I think that's a fine idea," Yuki said.

Ichigo grabbed her cell phone as Pai groaned, and scrolled through her contacts, then pressed Send when she reached Lettuce's number.

After two rings, Ichigo heard Lettuce say, _"Moshi moshi?"_

"Hi Lettuce, it's Ichigo," Ichigo said. "Can you come over? Pai has something to say to you, and I'm pretty sure your parents are going to freak if he comes over."

"_I'll be there soon," _Lettuce said. She sounded hopeful. Ichigo smiled as she hung up. "She sounded hopeful," Ichigo told the others.

"This ought to be fun," Taruto said. "Kisshu, do you have the video camera?"

Kisshu snapped his fingers, and his video camera appeared in his hand. "I'm all set," he said.

"So, where are you doing this?" Yuki asked Pai.

"The front yard," Pai said gloomily.

"I'll be on the roof," Kisshu said. "Good luck, lover boy."

Pai scowled, then gulped as the doorbell rang. Kisshu teleported out as Ichigo said, "You can get the door, Pai."

Pai scowled at her, and went downstairs. "And now we wait," Ichigo sighed.

They heard the door open, and Pai say, "Lettuce, can we go outside? There's something I need to tell you, and the others are currently listening at the top of the stairs."

They heard Lettuce agree softly, and as soon as they heard the door close, they all burst out laughing. "Now it's up to Kisshu," Taruto said.

_**With Lettuce and Pai: **_Lettuce, unfortunately, was unaware of Kisshu's presence as she said, "So, um, what did you want to tell me, Pai-san?"

"Lettuce, I…." Pai gulped, then said, "I really like you, Lettuce."

"R-really?" Lettuce asked.

Pai smiled slightly and said, "Really."

Lettuce threw her arms around him and said, "I love you, Pai!"

Pai hugged her back.

_**With Kisshu: **_Kisshu was on the roof, and he had recorded the whole thing, sound and all. That done, he smirked and teleported back to the others.

_**With the others: **_When Kisshu teleported in, everyone jumped up. "How'd it go?" Taruto asked.

"Great," Kisshu said, smirking. "Let's go watch it on the TV!"

"YEAH!" the others said, and they all headed downstairs. Kisshu took a cord out of his pocket and hooked it up to the TV, then turned it on. Then he pushed a button on the video camera, and the video started playing. Everyone 'awwed' when Pai hugged her back, and then Kisshu took the cord out.

"They're still out there," Ichigo commented. "And it's getting dark."

"Hey, does that mean I can have chocolate mousse now?" Kisshu asked.

"Let's have dinner first," Ichigo said. "Chocolate mousse is after dinner. Yuki, do you want to stay?"

"Can I go get Hayako?" Yuki asked.

"Sure, it'll take a while to cook the pasta and sauce anyways," Ichigo said. "Do you or Hayako have any food allergies?"

"No, Kisshu's the only one in our family with any food allergies," Yuki said. "And he's only allergic to bananas."

"Okay, I'll go get that started," Ichigo said, and went to the kitchen as Yuki teleported out.

**I think that's it for tonight folks. Please review!**


	8. Dinner

**Namida Chapter 8:**

**Dinner**

By the time Pai and Lettuce got back inside, Yuki and Hayako were back, and Ichigo was almost finished cooking. As soon as the two new lovebirds got back inside, Kisshu, Taruto and Pudding all asked, "Have fuuun?" They were rewarded when Pai turned red, and said, "Kisshu, did you have to?"

"Yep," Kisshu said. "Wanna see?"

"See what?" Lettuce asked.

"My video, which I'm thinking about posting on the Internet," Kisshu said.

"IF YOU POST THAT ON THE INTERNET, I'LL-" Pai broke off, cringing, as Yuki said from behind them, "You just lost your dessert as well, young man. NO THREATENING YOUR BROTHERS!"

Kisshu, Taruto and Pudding were practically unable to breathe, they were laughing so hard. "Aren't you going to do something about them?" Pai asked, pointing to the three.

"No," Yuki said. "First of all, it's not my place to scold Pudding, and second of all, you tried to kill them, they deserve fun. YOU, on the other hand, are still grounded for eternity, and I suggest that after dinner, you go do something about that window."

Kisshu was the first to calm down a little, and he said, "Lettuce, while Pai's getting scolded, do you want to see my video?"

"What's it of?" Lettuce asked.

"What do you think?" Kisshu smirked, and turned on the TV. Then he hooked his video camera up to the TV and played the video.

Lettuce turned so red it probably wasn't healthy as she watched Pai's little confession and her hugging him. "Kisshu-san, are you really going to post that on the Internet?" Lettuce asked timidly.

"Maaaybe," Kisshu said, glancing at Pai. "But maybe I'm just going to hold it over Pai's head for a while, since Aunt Yuki was the one who said I could videotape Pai's confession."

"I'm getting confused," Lettuce said.

"We all knew Pai loved you, so when I told Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako about it, they decided part of his consequence for trying to kill me and Taruto would be forcing him to confess his love to you," Kisshu said. "We thought that would make you happy too. Koneko-chan said you sounded hopeful on the phone."

Lettuce sounded somewhat sad as she said, "Pai, you didn't want me to know that you liked me?"

"No, I'm just not good at expressing my feelings, and I didn't want to end up humiliated," Pai said. "Especially if you didn't end up feeling the same way I do."

Lettuce turned red again, and said softly, "I love you, Pai."

"I love you too, Lettuce," Pai said.

"Dinner's ready," Ichigo called from the kitchen. "Lettuce, are you staying?"

"No, I should get home," Lettuce said.

"Would you like me to teleport you? It's dark out," Pai said.

"That would be nice," Lettuce said.

Pai looked at Yuki, who sighed and said, "Fine, but if you don't come right back, I WILL spank you, got that?"

"Yes, Mother," Pai sighed. He took Lettuce's hand and teleported.

"Should we wait for him?" Ichigo asked.

"No, just set some aside," Yuki said.

Ichigo did so, and they all sat down together for dinner. Ichigo had made linguine and meatballs, as well as some garlic bread.

"Taru-Taru, you're eating like a pig," Pudding said, watching Taruto shovel food into his mouth.

"No, I'm not," Taruto said. "Pigs don't use forks."

"It's an expression," Ichigo sighed. "She means the way you're eating is absolutely disgusting."

Yuki sighed and said, "Taruto, did you get bad habits while I wasn't around to watch you?"

"No," Taruto said.

"Then why are you eating like that?" Yuki asked. "Start eating like the rest of us, or you can be grounded as well."

Taruto sighed and started eating more slowly as Pudding said, "Pudding's mom never grounded her, na no da."

"You're lucky," Taruto said. "I got grounded on a weekly basis."

"Was Taru-Taru bad?" Pudding asked.

"Yes," Yuki said. "That's generally why children get grounded; they've misbehaved and need a punishment."

"The image of Pai getting spanked is funny, na no da," Pudding said. "Kisshu-oniichan, did you get spanked?"

Kisshu turned red and said, "Not often…."

"My parents never spank me, they just yell a bit," Ichigo said. "It's nice being an only child."

"Lucky…." Taruto said. "I wish I was an only child. Kisshu's not always bad, though."

"I like having Taruto, but Pai is a different story," Kisshu said. "I never imagined he'd try to kill us, though."

"Yeah, Pai's pretty much lost my trust," Taruto said.

"Same here," Kisshu said.

"Where is he, anyways? I told him to come right back," Yuki said.

"I'm here, Mom," Pai said gloomily.

"In other words, you were listening to what we all think of you?" Hayako asked mildly.

"Pretty much," Pai said. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"No," Kisshu said coldly. "You're not. And I still don't understand what the _hell _you were thinking. If you had to abandon us to get Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako back, you could have kicked us out and used the machine you have to keep us from teleporting. Instead, you nearly killed both of us. And we both know that things got so out of hand that if I hadn't sent Taruto to Earth, he would be dead. You aimed another attack at him after you knocked him out, and if I hadn't sent him to Earth, _he would be dead. _And frankly, I don't think you would have cared."

"Pudding doesn't want Taru-Taru to die," Pudding said sadly.

"And neither do we, which is why Pai will now be sent back home," Hayako said. "It's pretty clear that Pai can't control himself. If we are to form a truce, it's better not to have Pai around. The idea was Kisshu's anyways."

"But what about Lettuce?"Pai asked.

"You'll have to explain the situation to her," Yuki said. "If we see an improvement in your behavior, then it's a possibility that you could come back. Right now, however, I don't believe it's really safe to have you on Earth."

Pai was about to argue again, when Ichigo said, "Kisshu, are you feeling okay?"

The others turned, and saw Kisshu with a hand on his forehead. "I don't feel good," he said.

"Do you have a stomachache?" Ichigo asked.

"It's not my stomach, it's my head," Kisshu said.

Ichigo looked at Taruto. "I thought I healed the concussion," Taruto said.

"Wait, Taruto's the one who healed you, Kisshu?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah… he also counteracted the poison that Blondie injected into me," Kisshu said.

"His healing training isn't complete," Yuki said.

"There was no one else around," Kisshu said. "I'm getting dizzy…."

"I offered to check him out, but he wouldn't let me anywhere near him," Pai said.

Yuki sighed. "Hayako and I can both heal," she said. She got up and put a hand on Kisshu's forehead. "Uh-oh," she said.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, scared.

"Not only is the concussion not fully healed, not all of the poison is gone," Yuki said. "Ichigo, do you have a room where we can put him?"

"Hai," Ichigo said. "Follow me."

Hayako came over just in time, as Kisshu blacked out. Hayako picked him up, and he and Yuki followed Ichigo to the guest room. "Do you want to stay?" Yuki asked.

"If you don't mind," Ichigo said.

"Just stay quiet, unless we need your help," Yuki said. Ichigo nodded, and Yuki said to Hayako, "I'll do the poison, and then you can do the concussion."

Hayako nodded, and moved back. Yuki placed a hand on Kisshu's chest, directly over his heart. Her hand began to glow, and the glow started to spread out, covering Kisshu's whole body. It looked like when Taruto tried it, but Ichigo could sense that it was more powerful than whatever Taruto had done. The glow started to sink in, flashing once before fading completely.

"My turn," Hayako said, and as Yuki moved over, he put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, and his hand began to glow. This time, the glow didn't spread out, instead it stayed around Hayako's hand. Five minutes later, it flashed, then faded. Hayako put his hand on Kisshu's chest briefly, then sighed. "He'll need to rest for a while," he said. "Especially since we had to undo whatever Taruto did as well. Ichigo, can you stay with him?"

"Hai, of course," Ichigo said. "He likes me to sleep with him, is that okay?"

"Yes, he's always liked that; something to snuggle with," Yuki said. "Don't be surprised if he snuggles up to you in his sleep."

"I'm getting used to it," Ichigo said with a smile.

"Keiichiro has offered to let us stay with him, so if you need us, call him," Yuki said. "Oh, and Taruto said something about sleeping over at Pudding's place."

"Alright," Ichigo said. "Do you mind locking the door on the way out, or do you need me to do it?"

"We'll do it, you stay with Kisshu," Hayako said. "And you should probably climb in with him soon, you look tired."

"I am," Ichigo admitted. "I think I'll do that, do you need anything else?"

"No, we're fine," Yuki said. "Thank you for taking care of him, Ichigo."

"No problem," Ichigo said.

Yuki and Hayako left, closing the door behind them, and Ichigo carefully climbed in with Kisshu, pulling the blankets over them both. She wasn't surprised when Kisshu seemed to sense she was there, and snuggled up to her in his sleep. She gently put her arms around him and drifted off as well.

**Okay, if you don't like this, just don't flame me, k? But please review!**


	9. The Next Day

**Namida Chapter 9:**

**The Next Day**

The next morning, Ichigo woke up before Kisshu. Noticing his arms were locked around her waist, and remembering that Yuki had said he needed to rest, she decided to start stroking his hair rather than trying to get up.

She started stroking his hair, amazed by how soft it was. Kisshu made a happy noise in his sleep and leaned into her hand. His grip on her waist loosened a bit, and she slowly sat up, then continued stroking his hair. She looked at the clock, and realized it was already after ten in the morning. _Oh well, Yuki did say he needed rest, _Ichigo thought, and continued stroking Kisshu's hair.

By noon, Ichigo's arm was getting tired, and she was worried. Kisshu hadn't even stirred. _Is it normal for him to sleep this long? Maybe I'd better call Keiichiro and see if Yuki and/or Hayako can come over, _Ichigo thought.

Suddenly the air began to ripple, and Ichigo tensed a bit, because Pai appeared. He seemed to notice that she was acting wary, because he held his hands up, as if to show he didn't have any weapons. Ichigo didn't really relax, but asked, "What are you doing here, Pai?"

"I came to see if Kisshu was okay," Pai said.

"Why do you care?" Ichigo asked. "Do you even care about your brothers, Pai? I don't know a single person who would try to kill their younger siblings simply for not agreeing with them, besides you. Sure, my friends have fights with their siblings, and tease them, but that's normal, or so everyone tells me. None of my friends would even dream about killing them for such a stupid reason, or any reason. You don't try to kill your family, no matter what the reason, Pai. Your family is there for you, no matter what. And you should be there for them, too. I don't blame Kisshu for not wanting you anywhere near him. Would you want someone who tried to kill you near you? Frankly, I'd be at the very least, extremely cautious around someone who tried to kill me."

"I was trying to save my parents," Pai said stiffly.

Ichigo snapped. "Do you seriously believe your parents would rather you kill their other sons than let them die?" she asked coldly. "They're Taruto's parents too, and Kisshu's adoptive parents. Kisshu said you nearly killed Taruto. You _saw _how angry Yuki was. And I'm sure that anger wasn't just anger. It was fear. If I had kids, and I found out that one of them had tried to kill the others, I would be terrified. I might even have second thoughts about how safe it was for my other kids. I think you're extremely lucky your mother didn't disown you for this. If I had siblings, and I got mad and tried to kill one or more of them, I know my parents would disown me. Did you even think before you attacked Kisshu and Taruto, Pai?"

Pai sighed. "No," he said softly. "I didn't think, and I should have. Things wouldn't have gotten so bad if I had realized everything you just said earlier. And I do regret what I did. I know that I'll probably never be forgiven for this, and I am going back to my home planet, until my parents feel that it's safe for me to be near my brothers again. I just have to tell Lettuce goodbye, and then I'll be going. I was wondering if you could call her and tell her that I need to speak with her. This is the only safe place I can talk to her."

Ichigo sighed. "Fine… My cell phone is in my room, on my desk. Please go get it, I don't want to disturb Kisshu."

"I'm awake," Kisshu said. "I was just being quiet. Nice little speech, Koneko-chan."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, blushing. "I'll go call Lettuce, but you will be doing this downstairs, got it?"

"Hai," Pai said.

Ichigo sighed and got out of bed, then went to her room, and scrolled through her contacts till she found Lettuce's number, and pressed Send.

"_Moshi moshi?" _Lettuce said after two rings.

"It's Ichigo," Ichigo said. "Your evil boyfriend has something he needs to say, and claims that my house is the only safe place for the two of you to talk. Can you come over so he'll leave me and Kisshu alone?"

Lettuce sighed. _"You hate him, don't you?" _she asked.

"Since he tried to kill the one guy who accepts and loves me for who I am- yes," Ichigo said. "Can you come over?"

"_I'll be right there," _Lettuce said, and hung up.

Ichigo sighed and snapped her phone shut. Then she went back to Kisshu's room, and looked at Pai. "She'll be here soon. Go downstairs, you can answer the door," Ichigo said.

Pai nodded and left. Ichigo sighed and sat down next to Kisshu. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"I feel better, but I don't think I've got enough strength to stand right now," Kisshu said. "My head doesn't hurt anymore though. What happened after I blacked out last night?"

"Yuki and Hayako healed the concussion and the remainder of the poison, but said you might need to rest for a while," Ichigo said. "They also said that they had to undo whatever Taruto did."

"Maybe having Taruto heal me wasn't one of my better ideas," Kisshu said. "Unfortunately, when I got poisoned, no one else was around. Oh well, at least I'm alive."

"That's definitely a good thing," Ichigo said. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I didn't get any chocolate mousse," Kisshu said. "Was it good?"

"No one had any, dinner kind of broke up after you blacked out," Ichigo said. "It's about 1, I guess you can have some now. Unless you want something else first."

"I can have chocolate mousse first?" Kisshu asked hopefully.

Ichigo smiled. "Sure. I'll go get it."

"Thanks Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Ichigo went downstairs to the kitchen, and got out a bowl. Then she got out the mousse and scooped some into a bowl. She was about to take it upstairs when she heard a small sob. Figuring Pai had just told Lettuce his news, Ichigo took the bowl upstairs, and went to Kisshu. "Here's the mousse," she said, handing him the bowl.

"I heard a sob, I'm guessing Pai told Lettuce that he's going," Kisshu commented.

"I assume so; I didn't look," Ichigo said. "Poor Lettuce."

"Yeah… but having Pai around is a bad thing," Kisshu said. "Maybe he'll be able to come back to her someday."

"I guess," Ichigo said.

Kisshu sighed and tried the chocolate mousse. His face immediately lit up. Ichigo smiled. "You like it?" she asked him.

"I LOVE it!" Kisshu said, and continued eating. He was done in about five minutes, and asked, "Can I have more?"

"Do you have any idea how rich that stuff is?" Ichigo asked. "You'll give yourself a stomachache."

Kisshu just gave her puppy dog eyes. She giggled and ruffled his hair. "Nice try," she said. "You can have more later, k?"

"Oh, fine," Kisshu said sulkily.

Ichigo giggled again, and said, "You are so CUTE!"

"Thanks…" Kisshu said. He sounded a bit tired, and Ichigo said, "Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Sort of," Kisshu said. "Will you be here?"

"Of course," Ichigo said. "Get some more rest."

Kisshu settled down, and Ichigo sat next to him, then started stroking his hair. He fell asleep pretty quickly after that.

About an hour later, Yuki teleported into the room, and noticed Kisshu sleeping. "He's still asleep?" she asked softly.

"He woke up for a while, but then said he was tired again," Ichigo said softly. "He also says he doesn't think he has the strength to stand. He can sit up, though."

Yuki came over and put a gentle hand on Kisshu's chest. "I think he'll be back on his feet by tomorrow," she said. "Provided he doesn't push himself today."

"I'll make sure he doesn't," Ichigo said. "Did you just come to check on Kisshu, or did you have something else?"

"I thought I'd let you know that Pai is leaving today," Yuki said. "Hayako is going to make sure that Pai doesn't just hide somewhere, and then he'll be back, so we can talk about what's next."

"Alright," Ichigo said. "Pai came here this morning."

"He came back pretty down," Yuki said.

"I think Lettuce was crying," Ichigo sighed. "And the fact that I lectured him probably didn't help."

Yuki sighed. "I feel sorry for her, but I really think this is for the best," she said. "And maybe Pai will be able to come back someday. But for right now, I don't want him and his brothers near each other. He's quite obviously lost their trust, and I don't think it's a good idea for them to be with each other, especially if it leads to another fight." Lowering her head, she said, "I really thought he knew better. I was scared when Kisshu came to me and told me that Pai had tried to kill him and Taruto. Especially since Taruto's only nine. On our planet, killing children is punishable by death. I'm glad Taruto isn't dead, because our leader might have to kill Pai otherwise. Our laws about that are really strict. Our race doesn't reproduce as often as humans; some of us are only able to have one child our whole lives. It's possible we'll die out altogether someday. I just hope that I'm not around."

"Are you glad you were able to have two?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, but having a daughter would be nice," Yuki said. "Unfortunately, I've been told that two is my limit."

She and Ichigo were both startled when Kisshu said sleepily, "Well, when Ichigo and I get married, you'll have a daughter-in-law."

Ichigo squeaked, turing bright red. "Planning ahead?" Yuki asked. "You know what that means, right?"

"I already knew," Kisshu said.

Ichigo looked confused, and Yuki said, "We're talking about an instinct that Cyniclons have. We can tell when we meet our soulmate. It's obvious to us that that person is the right one for us, and it's obvious to them as well. It's strange that Kisshu's soulmate would be human, but then again, Kisshu isn't exactly your average Cyniclon."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"You know that Kisshu's the best warrior on Cyniclonia, right?" Yuki asked.

"Hai, Taruto told me," Ichigo said.

"There's actually never been a warrior as good as Kisshu in our recorded history, from when we lived on Earth and after," Yuki said. "Some of our warriors are good with swords, others with Chimera Animas, but no one except Kisshu is perfect with both. His instructors stopped teaching him after six months. At age ten, he was better than our best warriors, all of whom were at least twenty. Now, at fourteen, he's better than anyone ever in our history. Some warriors in our history got to a close level with him, but they were in their late twenties by the time that happened. Our warriors have levels, 1 being the least skilled, and 6 being the best. Kisshu passed level six in less than a year. He doesn't have a level; he's simply too skilled."

Ichigo was speechless. Yuki noticed and smiled slightly. "That's why I'm not surprised that you're his soulmate, or that he found you at such a young age," she said. "Although since you're the leader of Tokyo Mew Mew, you're probably similar to him, at least power-wise."

Ichigo looked at Kisshu, who was bright red. "Aunt Yuki, did you really have to tell Ichigo all that?" he asked. "Everyone hated me for being so much better than them. I hate being special."

"You wouldn't have met me if you weren't special," Ichigo said. "You were sent to Earth because you're the best, right?"

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo said, "If you weren't the best, you might not have been sent to Earth, and we never would have met. I'm not going to hate you just because you're stronger than everyone else. I love you, Kisshu."

Kisshu smiled reluctantly. "I love you too, Koneko-chan."

**I hope you like this. I'm off to work on Neko, so review please!**


	10. The Phone Call

**Namida Chapter 10:**

**The Phone Call**

Yuki smiled, and said, "I think you two are going to be very happy together."

"Provided we can get this past Ichigo's overprotective dad," Kisshu said.

"We'll work it out, and if he says no, I can tell them that I won't live with people who can't accept my feelings," Ichigo said. "I don't know how they'll react to me being a Mew Mew, though."

"If your parents truly love you, they'll accept that this is for the best," Yuki said.

"I suppose, and my mom is far more understanding than my dad," Ichigo said.

"Good," Kisshu said. "I'm hungry, can I have more chocolate mousse?"

Before Ichigo could reply, Yuki said, "NO, you are going to have healthy food first."

Kisshu sighed and said, "Does that mean I have to have leaves?"

"Leaves?" Ichigo asked.

"He means salad," Yuki sighed.

"How about a sandwich?" Ichigo asked. "I've got some cheese, do you want grilled cheese?"

"What is that?" Kisshu asked.

"Basically you just toast a cheese sandwich," Ichigo said. "Do you want one?"

"That does sound good, what kind of cheese do you have?" Kisshu asked.

"I've got cheddar and Monterey Jack," Ichigo said. "Yuki, do you want one too?"

"Sure, thanks," Yuki said.

"What kind of cheese?" Ichigo asked.

"Cheddar, please," Yuki said.

"Can I try Monterey Jack?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure," Ichigo said. "I'm having that too. Can you stand up?"

"I think so," Kisshu said. He stood up, but Ichigo noticed he was still pretty shaky.

Yuki seemed to notice too, because she said, "I think it's better if you sit back down, Kisshu. Ichigo, is it okay to eat up here?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "Yuki's right, Kisshu; you look really shaky."

Kisshu sighed and sat back down. "I don't like this," he said. "I hate feeling weak."

"I know, but it'll get worse if you push it," Yuki said.

"I'll go cook the sandwiches," Ichigo said.

"Have fun," Kisshu said gloomily.

Ichigo ruffled his hair gently and went downstairs. She got out the bread and cheeses, then made the sandwiches. She made Yuki's first, and put it on a red plate. Then she made hers and Kisshu's, and put them on blue plates. She found a tray and took them all upstairs.

Yuki and Kisshu were waiting, and looked up as she came in. "I finished," she said. "Yuki, the red plate is for you, since you wanted cheddar."

"Okay, thanks," Yuki said. She took the red plate and sat down on the bed with Kisshu as Ichigo handed him a sandwich. Then Ichigo sat down on the bed with them and bit into her own sandwich.

"This is good, thanks Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

"Welcome," Ichigo said. "Yuki, how's yours?"

"It's great, thanks," Yuki said.

Suddenly music started playing, startling them all. Ichigo grabbed her cell phone off the bedside table, grimaced, and answered it, turning on speakerphone first. "Hi Mom," Ichigo said. "What's up?"

"_Where are you?" _Sakura asked worriedly. _"I got a call from the school saying you hadn't been in in about a week, and they had tried your cell phone, but you didn't answer. Your dad and I are almost back in Japan, we were worried sick!"_

"Sorry," Ichigo said. "I'm in the guest room, and it's a very long story that I don't particularly want to tell twice, so can this wait until you get home?"

"_I suppose, but if this isn't a GOOD excuse-" _Sakura broke off as Shintaro shouted in the background, _"You're grounded for eternity!" _Sakura sighed. _"What he said," _she said. _"We'll see you tonight." _

"Bye Mom," Ichigo said, and hung up. She looked at Kisshu and Yuki, and said, "We'd better start planning. And yes Kisshu, you have to help me, or they won't believe a word I'm saying."

"Your dad will kill me!" Kisshu moaned.

"I won't let him," Ichigo said. "But we'd better keep quiet about us sleeping together, he WILL have a fit if he hears about that."

"I'll help you out," Yuki said. "If your dad thinks you've been supervised, he might not blow his top."

"Thanks, Yuki," Ichigo said. "I think we'll need all the help we can get."

"And what about the fact that I can't stand up?" Kisshu said.

"I'll take care of it," Yuki sighed. "You'll need to sleep off the healing, though. Ichigo and I can plan what to say while you're sleeping."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

"Lie down," Yuki said. Kisshu obeyed, and Yuki put her hand on his chest, closing her eyes as she began to glow. Kisshu fell asleep as Yuki healed him. Five minutes later, she took her hand away, and said softly, "Let's talk elsewhere. He needs to rest."

Ichigo nodded, and followed Yuki to her room. They sat on the bed, and Yuki sighed. "Ichigo, why did it take you so long to realize you loved Kisshu?" she asked.

Startled, Ichigo said, "He called me a toy, and it really hurt, so I believed that he didn't like me. I was also too starry-eyed over my previous boyfriend to notice if I liked Kisshu or not."

"But you love him now?" Yuki asked.

"Hai," Ichigo said. "And I get the sense that I'll probably never find anyone else."

Yuki smiled. "If you two are soulmates, then you won't," she said. "And Kisshu, while he has his faults, is a wonderful person to have as your soulmate."

Ichigo smiled. Yuki smiled back and said, "So what shall we tell your parents?"

They talked about it for about an hour, but finally decided the truth was the best way to go- minus the sleeping together part.

After talking, Yuki and Ichigo went back to check on Kisshu, and saw that he was stirring. He opened his eyes as they came over, and said, "Hi…"

"Are you feeling better?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I feel a lot stronger," Kisshu said. He looked at Yuki and asked plaintively, "Can I get up now?"

Yuki placed her hand on his chest for a moment, then said, "Yes, you're all set. Ichigo and I have decided to tell her parents the truth, minus the fact that you've been sleeping together. And I will be here to help, so they don't think that you've been without any supervision."

"Okay, thanks," Kisshu said. He got out of bed and stretched, then looked at Ichigo. "Can we go somewhere?" he asked.

"Make your bed first," Yuki said. "Then you can go somewhere."

Kisshu sighed and started neatening up the sheets and blankets. When it looked nice, he looked at Yuki, who sighed and said, "Very well, you can go have fun now."

"YAY!" Kisshu said. "Koneko-chan, can we go to the park with the big tree?"

"Sure, but why there in particular?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu smirked. "You'll see," he said, and took her hand. Then he teleported them to the park.

They landed in a small clearing, and Ichigo gasped. The ground was carpeted in thick moss, and in the center of the clearing was a small fountain. The whole clearing was enclosed by trees, so you'd never know it was there unless you went looking for it. "Kisshu, this is… _amazing,_" Ichigo said softly. "How'd you find it?"

"Random teleporting," Kisshu said. "I wanted a peaceful place, so I was randomly teleporting around parks, but when I thought about moss, I ended up here. I came here a lot, to calm down when I was angry with Pai or Taruto, or to cry when you rejected me again. Or just to get away for a while. I figured if you ever fell for me, this could be our spot, not just mine. I don't think the humans know about it, since I've been here countless times, at all times of the day and night, and the only living things I've seen are the plants, and a squirrel once or twice. The animals don't usually come here, but they might just like sunlight better. Anyways, it's the most peaceful place I've ever been."

"Thanks for showing it to me," Ichigo said softly. "I love it already."

Kisshu smiled. "I'm glad. You like nature, don't you?"

"I love nature, and being outdoors," Ichigo said. "This place is just perfect."

"I agree," Kisshu said. "Let's keep it our secret, k? I don't want anyone else to find it."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "It's nice to think that we can have our own hideaway."

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "Unfortunately, it's getting dark, so I should get you home before your parents come."

"K," Ichigo said.

"We can always come back," Kisshu said, noticing the wistfulness in her eyes.

Ichigo smiled, and Kisshu took her hand and teleported to her room. Yuki was in there, and she said, "Good timing, I heard noises outside."

"I guess we'd better get ready," Ichigo said…..

**To be continued… IF you review!**


	11. Explanations and Apologies

**Namida Chapter 11:**

**Explanations and Apologies**

They heard the front door open, and Sakura call out, "Ichigo, we're home!"

"Coming," Ichigo called back, and looked at Yuki and Kisshu. "Let's go," she said. They followed her downstairs, and to the living room, where they found Sakura and Shintaro with a bunch of luggage. Their jaws dropped when they saw Kisshu and Yuki. "It's not polite to stare," Ichigo said.

"Okay, so what's the story?" Shintaro asked.

"I'm actually Mew Ichigo," Ichigo said.

"So why are you with them?" Sakura asked.

"This is Kisshu, and his adoptive mom, Yuki," Ichigo said. "I found Kisshu unconscious on the sidewalk outside our house about two weeks ago, and brought him home. Ryou had been being extremely nasty to me, so I decided to take Kisshu home rather than handing him over to Ryou, who would probably kill him."

"Okay, so why did you miss so much school?" Shintaro asked.

"Kisshu didn't wake up for four days, and when he did wake up, he had a really bad concussion," Ichigo said. "And he told me that his older brother Pai had tried to kill him and his younger brother Taruto, and was now out to get them. I figured that Taruto would be with Pudding, so I called her, and told her to bring Taruto here and stay with me to ensure that she and her siblings would be safe. Ryou was spying on us with our Mew pendants, and he sent Lettuce to try to get rid of us. She decided to join us, and stayed here too. We've all pretty much been in hiding for the last two weeks. I didn't feel safe leaving Kisshu here alone, and it was good that I didn't, because Ryou broke in and tried to kill him. I used my attack to incinerate Ryou, so he's not a problem anymore."

"You _incinerated _him?" Sakura asked.

"I cleaned up the ashes, if that's what you're worried about," Ichigo said

"No! I'm worried that you'll get arrested!" Sakura wailed.

"Keiichiro promised not to tell, and seeing as the Mew Project is technically illegal, he can't go to the police without getting arrested," Ichigo said.

"Okay, so you incinerated Ryou…" Shintaro prompted.

"Pai showed up a while later, and attacked," Ichigo said. "Then he told us that he couldn't disobey his leader, because he was holding his parents hostage. He told us that his leader's human host was Aoyama, so Lettuce and I killed him. Pai got Yuki and her husband Hayako back, and they've been with Keiichiro, though Yuki's been spending a lot of time here."

"Why?" Shintaro asked.

"I figured these two should have some supervision," Yuki said.

"Thanks," Shintaro said. He looked at Ichigo and said, "You and Kisshu are together?"

"Yup!" Ichigo said happily. "I'm really happy!"

"Do I get to challenge him to a kendo match?" Shintaro asked.

"NO, you don't!" Ichigo and Sakura said firmly.

"One was more than enough," Ichigo said. "I know Kisshu would never hurt me. I think that should be enough for you. I'm aware that you think I'm a baby, but I think it's time you realized I have a mind of my own and don't need you to hold my hand wherever I go. I wish you trusted me, Dad."

Shintaro was now speechless, and Sakura said, "Ichigo's right, Shintaro. Did you even consider how it might feel to a thirteen-year-old for her father to treat her like a baby?"

"Um…" Shintaro said uncomfortably.

Sakura sighed. "I thought not. I'll lecture you later. Ichigo, what's happening now?"

Yuki was the one who answered, and she said, "I sent Pai back to our planet, since I don't feel that he can control himself, and we are trying to form a truce. There's one more thing, though. It's not a good idea to separate Ichigo and Kisshu for very long. And since Ichigo can't exactly come back to our planet, I would like you both to adopt Kisshu."

"Um…. is there more to this?" Sakura asked.

"Hai," Yuki said. "But it's going to take a bit of explaining."

"Let's all sit down, then," Sakura said, and dragged Shintaro over to the couch. Yuki sat in a chair, and Kisshu and Ichigo sat down on the loveseat.

Yuki waited till everyone was settled, and said, "I should give you the background first. Cyniclons- that's the name of my race- have a quality that I don't believe humans have, although Ichigo might have it. We are able to sense when we've found our soulmate. The person we find also knows it, and whether their parents like it or not, we are bonded to the person we find. This normally would happen in a Cyniclon's early twenties, but Kisshu's not your average Cyniclon. That's why it doesn't surprise me that Ichigo is his soulmate, even though she's not a Cyniclon. Ichigo seems to have a similar sense; she told me earlier today that she has a feeling she'll never find anyone else. That might be because she is half cat, but I don't know. Anyways, people who are separated from their soulmates for any lengthened period of time will become depressed, and occasionally even suicidal. Taking Kisshu back to our planet without Ichigo would probably result in disaster, which I'm sure you don't want."

"I don't mind adopting Kisshu," Sakura said. "But if he's living here, I need to sign him up for school, and no offense, but the ears are going to be a problem."

"Maybe Keiichiro could figure something out to change Kisshu's ears," Ichigo suggested.

"I had some pills that Pai developed, but I don't have them with me, and I don't know how he made them," Kisshu said. "They were on the ship."

"Hayako's back, I'll call him," Yuki said, and closed her eyes briefly. Then she said, "He's on his way now."

A few minutes later, the air began to ripple, and Hayako appeared. "Konbanwa," he said. "Yuki, what did you need?"

"Do you know if the pills Pai developed to change our ears are still on the ship?" Yuki asked.

"Yep, and I told him to give the instructions on how to make them to Keiichiro," Hayako said. "We're all set." He turned to Sakura and Shintaro and bowed slightly, saying, "You must be Ichigo's parents, it's nice to meet you."

"You as well," Sakura said.

Hayako smiled and turned back to Yuki. "You've explained the situation?" he asked.

"Hai," Yuki said. She turned to Sakura and asked, "So it's okay with you to have Kisshu live here?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "Shintaro will get used to it eventually as well. Especially since he keeps complaining about my decision not to have any more kids."

"Why is that, if you don't mind my asking?" Hayako asked.

"The first time was scary," Sakura said. "Ichigo was born nearly a month early, and the doctors thought she wouldn't make it. I don't want to go through that again. And now we'll have two kids anyways!"

Shintaro was sulking, and said, "I didn't expect the second one to be my daughter's boyfriend."

"Get over it, Dad," Ichigo sighed. "It's not a very pleasant feeling when your dad doesn't trust you. I know Grandpa wasn't like that; why are you so untrusting of me?"

"He's like that because he still thinks you can't take care of yourself," Sakura said bluntly. "It would be _nice _if he would _listen _to you."

Shintaro was still sulking, and said, "If I listen, what's going to happen?"

"I'll be happier," Ichigo said. "And maybe you'll realize that just because I don't like living alone for weeks on end, doesn't mean that I can't take care of myself."

"I thought you liked it," Shintaro said.

Ichigo rolled her eyes. "I HAD to say that, or you'd never stop treating me like a baby," she said. "I like it better when you guys are around, and I think it would be nice now that Kisshu's going to be living here too. Most kids' parents don't leave them alone all the time, and you tend to leave the day before something happens, like this last time. Aoyama broke up with me for being a Mew Mew, Ryou made me wash dishes for four hours for being late, even though I came in crying, and the only reason I didn't go home and cry myself to sleep is because I found Kisshu on the sidewalk. Even though I couldn't talk with him, it felt nice having someone there. I don't like being alone 24/7."

"You leave her alone for weeks at that age?" Yuki asked. "I don't know about here, but on our planet, we stay with our kids, so they know that we love them and want to be around them. Do you not like being around Ichigo?"

"We love being around her, but we thought she wanted time alone," Sakura said.

Ichigo buried her face in Kisshu's shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, "You couldn't tell that I was just saying that so you could have fun? Yuki's idea of parenting sounds nicer."

Kisshu hugged Ichigo gently as her parents started looking ashamed. "We're sorry, sweetie, we didn't see that," Sakura said.

"Obviously," Ichigo said bitterly. She pulled away from Kisshu and stormed upstairs. A minute later they heard a door slam. Kisshu stood up and teleported, leaving the others to talk.

_**With Ichigo: **_Ichigo was lying face down on her bed when Kisshu teleported in. She didn't look up; she just asked in a muffled voice, "Do you think my parents hate me?"

Kisshu sat down next to her and started stroking her hair as he said, "I don't think so. I think they just don't understand you the way you want them to. But I think they'll listen now. I'm guessing they just didn't understand that you really did want them around, but now that they know that you do, I think at the very least your mom will listen."

_**With Sakura, Shintaro, Hayako and Yuki: **_Yuki sighed. "It's pretty obvious to me that Ichigo needs you two around," she said. "As long as you don't treat her like a baby, and stay with her, she'll be happy. She's right, you should have realized that she was just letting you go because she didn't want to make you miserable or get treated like a baby. And if you're serious about taking Kisshu in, I think you should stay here unless it's some kind of emergency. Kisshu isn't ready for being alone without parents, even though Ichigo will be here. Deep down, he wants someone who will treat him like a teenager, and be there for him, besides just Ichigo. Not many people on my planet treated him like a teenager; they treated him like an adult, and had really high expectations that he struggled to meet. If you want them both to be happy, you're going to have to be here for them, and not just over the phone. Even though you'll probably have fights, they both need you there."

Sakura buried her face in her hands. "I really should have seen this before…" she said sadly. "Do you think there's a way to make it up to her?"

"Stay with her," Hayako said. "She wants you around, and she wants you to start treating her age-appropriately. Those aren't hard things to do, are they? Vacations aren't a necessity. You'll be better off staying here. If you want Ichigo to love you, you have to be here. A relationship- any relationship, no matter what kind- is a two-way thing. Both parties have to work together to make it work. And a long-distance relationship doesn't make anyone happy. I don't mean to make you feel bad, but I can't imagine leaving one of my children alone for three weeks. I admit that this time it was probably better that you were away, considering the fact Ichigo and her friends were basically barricading the house against their enemies, but what about in the past? Every child I know wants to have their parents there when they need them. If they're not there, the child will begin to have doubts about how much their parents care."

Yuki continued, "You're also going to have to remember Kisshu's feelings as well as Ichigo's. I don't think you want him to be nervous that you'll just leave anytime you feel like it. After his real parents died, and after we managed to get him to leave his room, he started to get kind of clingy to us. Admittedly he was six years old, but while he's matured, his need to have a family hasn't changed one bit. A family that isn't there isn't going to work for him. And it obviously doesn't work for Ichigo either. Sakura, you should be aware that he might become clingy to you after a while, but since he's scared of Shintaro, he probably won't become clingy to him."

"Why is he scared of me?" Shintaro asked.

"He knows you don't like the idea of Ichigo having a boyfriend, and therefore believes that you're going to hate him no matter what," Hayako said. "I tried to tell him that's not necessarily true, but he's convinced that you're scary and hate him."

"I told you that your hatred of boyfriends was going to come back to bite you," Sakura said dryly.

"Kisshu is very responsible with Ichigo," Yuki said. "And he's proved to me that he's responsible. I let them sleep with each other, and they didn't do anything besides act like the other was a teddy bear."

"You let them SLEEP together?" Shintaro asked incredulously.

"Yes," Yuki said calmly. "Kisshu is a horrible liar, if he had done something, which I know he wouldn't, I would be able to tell. And they didn't do anything besides sleep. They like it; I saw no reason to object."

"You should trust Ichigo," Hayako said. "We both saw right away that she's responsible too. She wouldn't go too far either."

"I've always trusted Ichigo, and I don't have a problem with them sleeping together," Sakura said. "Shintaro, on the other hand…."

"I know, I know, I'm too overprotective and I should go soft before being overprotective becomes hazardous to my health," Shintaro said sulkily.

"Are you going to go soft?" Sakura asked. "Or are we going to have to have more little chats?"

"Okay! Okay! I'll go soft and they can sleep together!" Shintaro said.

"Good," Sakura, Yuki and Hayako said together.

"I think you two should go talk to Ichigo and Kisshu," Hayako said. "They should know what's going on."

"Okay," Sakura said. "Shintaro, let's go."

Shintaro followed her upstairs, and to Ichigo's room. Sakura knocked, but didn't hear anything. She quietly opened the door, and looked in. Kisshu looked up, startled, and came over, putting a finger to his lips. "She fell asleep a little while ago," he said softly. "If it's urgent, though, I can wake her up."

"We do need to talk to both of you," Sakura said.

Kisshu nodded, and went back to Ichigo, shaking her gently. "Koneko-chan, time to wake up," he said softly.

"Nyaaa…" Ichigo said disgruntledly. "Do I have to?"

"Your parents want to talk with us," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed and sat up. She looked at Sakura and Shintaro warily. "Yuki told you we've been sleeping together, didn't she?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Shintaro sighed. "And before you say anything, we've decided you can keep doing that. Your mom claims it's hazardous to my health if I don't go soft, so yes, I am going soft."

"Really?" Ichigo said, perking up a bit.

"Really," Sakura said. Her smile faded as she said, "Ichigo, we're really sorry we haven't been more understanding. And we're going to stop the vacations, so we'll have more time with the both of you."

Ichigo perked up a bit more, and so did Kisshu. "So now you'll be there when I get back from school?" she asked eagerly.

"I will, but your father may have to work late sometimes," Sakura said. "But I'll be here, and if I go shopping, I promise I'll leave a note or call you."

"Thanks," Ichigo said. "Is Dad going to be nice to Kisshu too?"

Shintaro sighed. "You do realize the main reason I hated Aoyama was that he was a good-for-nothing pretty boy with no brains, right?" he asked. "I don't hate all boys, and for your information, I used to be your age, no matter what you may think."

"So you don't hate me?" Kisshu asked.

"No," Shintaro sighed. "And even if I did, I'd try to be nice because my wife and daughter would never let me hear the end of it. But I don't hate you. I hated Aoyama, though."

"So did I," Kisshu said. "I'm glad he's dead."

"Kisshu, do you have human clothes?" Sakura asked.

"No, just these," Kisshu said.

"Okay, I think I'll take you and Ichigo shopping tomorrow, while Shintaro comes up with an excuse for Ichigo's three-week long absence from school," Sakura said.

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "Did you say something about school?"

"Yep, I'll sign you up when we figure out the pills to change your ears," Sakura said. "Tomorrow we'll go shopping, and maybe get ice cream."

"YAY!" Ichigo said.

"And Kisshu, you can borrow some of Shintaro's clothes for going out," Sakura said.

"Okay," Kisshu said. He looked over at Ichigo as she yawned. "Tired, Koneko-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Ichigo said.

"You two go to bed," Sakura said. "See you in the morning."

"Night," Ichigo and Kisshu said. As Sakura and Shintaro left, the two of them climbed under the covers and snuggled up to each other. Ichigo turned out the light, and Kisshu pulled the blankets up. Then they both drifted off to sleep.

**That worked out well… Next chapter, they go shopping!**


	12. Shopping

**Namida Chapter 12:**

**Shopping**

The next day, Ichigo and Kisshu got up, and went downstairs to find Sakura in the kitchen, making something. "Mom, did we mention that Kisshu's severely allergic to bananas?" Ichigo asked.

"No, but I did notice all the bananas are gone," Sakura said. "I'll go let your dad know there will be no more banana bread. I think the oven's done preheating; can you put the chocolate chip muffins in and set the timer for 30 minutes?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. Sakura left as Ichigo opened the oven and put the muffins in. Then she set the oven's timer for 30 minutes, and went back to the table.

Kisshu was about to say something when they heard Shintaro moan, "I can't have ANY banana bread?"

"Don't you get tired of it?" Sakura asked. "I'm going to stop making it, so you can find something else, that doesn't involve bananas."

"I suppose that means no more banana cream pie as well?" Shintaro asked.

"That stuff is disgusting," Sakura said dryly. "Why you like it is beyond me. The one time I made it, Ichigo and I both threw up. I told you, NO MORE BANANAS!"

"What's banana cream pie?" Kisshu asked Ichigo.

"Don't ask," Ichigo said, shuddering. "I got so sick eating it, and I'm not allergic to bananas."

"Why does your dad like it?" Kisshu asked.

"Because he's insane," Sakura said, coming back into the kitchen. "Don't let him tell you what it is, especially not if Ichigo or I are in hearing range. We'll all get sick, and then we won't be able to go shopping."

"What am I going to do about my clothes and ears?" Kisshu asked.

"Hayako left a bottle of those pills here, and you can borrow some of Shintaro's clothes," Sakura said. "I'll go find some; you stay here. Actually, you should take a shower, Ichigo."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She kissed Kisshu's cheek, and went back upstairs. She picked out a black T-shirt with a pink heart on the front, and a baby blue miniskirt, then got out underthings and knee socks, and went to take her shower.

When she got back to her room, Kisshu was waiting. He had made the bed, too. "Sorry I made you wait," Ichigo said. "Thanks for making the bed."

"Sure," Kisshu said. "Aren't you going to put your hair up?"

"Yeah, but I usually do it in here," Ichigo said.

"It looks nice down, too," Kisshu said. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Okay," Ichigo said.

Kisshu left, and Ichigo looked at her hair in the mirror. Deciding to leave it down, she put a pair of strawberry-shaped hairclips in to hold her bangs back, and left it.

Kisshu came back fifteen minutes later, dressed in jeans and a green T-shirt. His hair was in its usual pigtails, and he asked, "You decided to leave your hair down?"

"Yeah…." Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled. "It looks nice that way."

"Thanks Kisshu," Ichigo said. "I bet the chocolate chip muffins are ready, do you want to go see?"

"Yeah!" Kisshu said excitedly. Ichigo smiled and took his hand, then pulled him downstairs. Sakura looked up as they came into the kitchen, and said, "The muffins are ready, help yourselves. Two each, k?"

"K," Ichigo said. "Where's Dad?"

"Sulking in the living room," Sakura sighed. "Why he likes banana bread that much is beyond me. And he insists that I put chocolate chips in it."

"Um… no offense, but that sounds disgusting," Kisshu said.

"It's not great," Ichigo sighed. Then she perked up and said, "Now I'll never have to see another banana!"

"That sounds nice…" Sakura said dreamily.

"Uh… Mom, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how nice it'll be not to have to mash up the almost black bananas every time we run out of banana bread," Sakura said happily.

"You should stop talking about this, Kisshu's kind of turning green," Ichigo said.

Sakura looked at Kisshu, who wasn't looking too good anymore, and said, "I'm sorry, Kisshu."

"I thought bananas were yellow," Kisshu said. "Banana bread is made with rotten bananas?"

"Let's just stop talking about it," Ichigo said. "Are you still into muffins, or would you rather skip breakfast?"

"I think I'll skip breakfast," Kisshu said. "If you want to eat, it's fine, but I don't feel hungry anymore."

"I think I'll have a muffin, but you might want to go lie down until it's time to go," Ichigo said. "Are you feeling sick?"

"A little," Kisshu said.

"I'd suggest going to the bathroom first, then," Ichigo said.

Kisshu was looking kind of green, and he just nodded, then went upstairs. A minute later, they heard a door close, and Kisshu throwing up. Ichigo sighed. "I think we shouldn't mention bananas," she said. "He told me the one time he ate one, he couldn't stop throwing up and had a fever that wouldn't go down."

"Yikes," Sakura said. "You should eat before he gets back, I'll go inform your father that he's now not allowed to complain, or it'll make Kisshu sick."

"K," Ichigo said. She took a muffin, and sat down to eat it. As she was finishing, Kisshu came back downstairs. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I feel better, but I think mentioning bananas is not going to be very good for me," Kisshu said.

"Mom just went to inform Dad that he's not allowed to complain about it anymore," Ichigo said. "Are you still up for shopping?"

"Yeah, maybe getting some air will help," Kisshu said. "Your mom mentioned something called ice cream yesterday, what is it?"

"It's a dessert made with cream and sugar and different flavors," Ichigo said. "I love strawberry ice cream. It's cold, though, so you can't eat it fast like the mousse I made."

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"It'll give you a headache," Ichigo said. "Eating really cold food too fast gives you a headache."

"Oh well," Kisshu said. "Is there apple ice cream?"

"Not that I know of, but there's millions of kinds of chocolate," Ichigo said.

"Why isn't there apple ice cream?" Kisshu asked.

"That's a good question," Ichigo said. "I don't know, though. Maybe it's too hard to flavor?"

"Aww…" Kisshu said.

"You like apples?" Ichigo asked.

"Pai once said I'm obsessed with them," Kisshu said. "It's the first type of fruit I had on Earth, and I love apples. Are there apple desserts?"

"Zillions," Ichigo said. "Maybe we should have apple desserts for a while. You can ask Mom."

"Ask me what?" Sakura said, coming into the kitchen. "And are you feeling better, Kisshu?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kisshu said. "Ichigo said there's zillions of apple desserts, do you know how to make any?"

"Of course," Sakura said.

"Can we have some?" Kisshu asked eagerly. "I love apples."

Sakura smiled. "Sure, but I need to buy some," she said. "We can do that on the way home. Are you two ready?"

"I just have to put shoes on," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, I think your boots are in my room."

"K," Kisshu said, and went to get them. He came down as Sakura and Ichigo were putting their shoes on, and said, "I found them."

"Good," Sakura said as Kisshu sat down to put them on. When he was done, he stood up and said, "How are we getting there?"

"The car," Sakura said.

"Those things don't look very big," Kisshu said.

"I'll sit with you," Ichigo said.

"O-okay," Kisshu said. They went out to the garage, and Ichigo got in the backseat, Kisshu hesitantly following her. Ichigo reached over and closed the door, then said, "Okay, put on your seatbelt."

Kisshu did so, and Sakura started up the car, causing Kisshu to jump. "It's not going to kill you," Ichigo said. "Close your eyes, maybe that'll help."

Kisshu closed his eyes and leaned on Ichigo. She started stroking his hair as Sakura pulled out of the driveway. It was a fifteen minute drive to the mall, by which point Ichigo's stroking had put Kisshu to sleep. When they parked, Sakura looked back and said, "That's so cute!"

Ichigo smiled softly and shook Kisshu gently, saying, "Kisshu, we're here. Time to wake up."

Kisshu stirred, opening his eyes sleepily. "I can get out now?" he asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "It looks like you can handle cars if I'm with you."

"I guess," Kisshu said, taking off his seatbelt and getting out. Ichigo and Sakura got out too, and Sakura led the way to a clothes store. "Kisshu, you're smaller than Shintaro, so I think we should look for size 8," she said.

"Okay, can we get black and green?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure, those are your favorite colors?" Sakura asked.

"Yup," Kisshu said.

They went to the men's department, and started looking around. "Why do some of the shirts have writing on them?" Kisshu asked.

"Some people like that," Sakura said. "Other people like pictures on their shirts. Ichigo likes that sometimes."

"Oh…" Kisshu said. "I like plain."

"Well, that should be easy enough," Sakura said. "Let's keep looking."

A while later, they had a cart full of black and green clothing, and were on their way to the shoes department. Kisshu wasn't happy about new shoes. "Why do I need more shoes?" he asked.

"Because you can't wear boots to school," Sakura said. "You can wear boots everywhere except school. And we need to get a uniform as well."

"Yuck," Kisshu grumbled.

Ichigo took his hand and said, "You'll get used to it, I did. It's not that bad."

Kisshu looked at her. "Okay," he said with a smile, making her blush.

"Mom, can you make sure Kisshu is in all my classes when you sign him up?" Ichigo asked. "I think it'll be better that way."

"Okay, I was planning on it anyways," Sakura said. She went down an aisle and looked around, then pulled out a pair of brown loafer-like shoes, and said, "Kisshu, see if these fit. This is the kind you need for school."

Kisshu sighed and took the shoes, then sat down and tried them on. "They feel fine," he said after a moment.

"Stand up and see if they feel good standing up," Sakura said. Kisshu obeyed, and said, "They're less comfortable than my boots, but they fit."

"Good, you can put your boots back on now," Sakura said. "And you only have to wear these for school."

"Good," Kisshu said. "Do we need anything else?"

"Not at this store, so let's go pay," Sakura said.

"K," Ichigo and Kisshu said. They followed Sakura to the checkout line, and waited as the cashier put Kisshu's new clothes in bags. Sakura paid, and then they took the bags and left.

"We need to go to another store, and then we can get ice cream," Sakura said.

"What store?" Kisshu asked.

"It's where they sell school uniforms and other school things," Sakura said. "You're going to need a bag as well."

"K," Kisshu said. "Thanks for doing all this, Sakura."

"Sure Kisshu," Sakura said. She led the way to the next store, and went to the front desk. "I need a size 8 boy's uniform for Daikon Middle School, please," she said.

"Okay," the woman said. She went off to get that, and came back with it in a bag. "Do you need a school bag too?" she asked.

"Yes," Sakura said. The woman got one and said, "The total is 4,669 yen please." (A/N: $50.00)

Sakura handed over the money, and the woman said, "Thank you, you're all set."

"Thanks," Sakura said, and led the way out of the store.

"Is that a lot?" Kisshu asked.

"Not as much as at some schools," Sakura said. "Some schools are far more expensive than Ichigo's. And what's nice about her school is that there's no admissions fee."

Kisshu looked puzzled, and Ichigo said, "You don't have to pay to get in."

"Oh," Kisshu said. Then he looked hopefully at Sakura and said, "Are we getting ice cream now?"

Sakura giggled. "Sure," she said. "The ice cream shop is in this building, but we have to put this stuff in the car first. Then we can go get ice cream."

"Okay," Kisshu said happily. He and Ichigo followed Sakura out to the parking lot, and went to the car. They put everything in the trunk, and Sakura led the way to the ice cream shop. When they went in, though, it turned out Moe and Miwa were there too. "Hi guys!" Ichigo said.

"Hi Ichigo, hi Kisshu, hi Mrs. Momomiya!" Moe and Miwa said. "What's up?"

"We just got Kisshu a lot of new clothes, and a uniform for school," Ichigo said. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you that Kisshu's extremely allergic to bananas, so it's not a good idea to bring them for lunch anymore."

Moe looked happy. "Yay! Now I have a good reason not to bring those awful things to school!" she said. "I'm soooo sick of bananas every day."

"I don't usually bring one, but I'll remember not to," Miwa said. "Thanks for telling us."

"Yup," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, do you know what you want?" Sakura asked.

"Sorry, I'd like to get my usual," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, do you know what you want?"

Kisshu looked a bit overwhelmed. "Why are there like five million choices?" he asked.

"I don't know, do you want help picking?" Ichigo asked. "You like chocolate, right?"

"Yeah," Kisshu said.

"Do you want chocolate ice cream with hot fudge?" Ichigo asked.

"What's hot fudge?" Kisshu asked.

"Hot melted chocolate, it's really good," Ichigo said.

"That sounds good," Kisshu said. "Can I get that?"

"Sure," Sakura said. "I think I'll get coffee with whipped cream."

"Koneko-chan, what are you getting?" Kisshu asked.

"Strawberry with hot fudge," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo's gotten that every single time we've gone out for ice cream since we were three," Moe said.

"Wow…" Kisshu said.

"I'll go order, you go find us a table," Sakura said.

"K," Ichigo said.

"We have to get going," Moe said. "See you when you get back!"

"K, bye," Ichigo said. She looked around, and spotted a booth. "Let's sit there," she told Kisshu, pointing.

Kisshu followed her over to the booth, and sat down next to her. Ichigo looked at him, and said, "You seem a bit overwhelmed."

"I didn't know when you told me what ice cream was that there'd be five million flavors to choose from," Kisshu said. "It's overwhelming because at home there's almost no food at all, much less five million kinds of ice cream."

"Is that why you're so thin?" Ichigo asked.

"That, and we've all got faster metabolisms than humans," Kisshu said. "It was hard not having a lot of food. I'm always hungry, and not being able to eat isn't fun. That's why I like Earth; there's a lot of food."

"Wow…" Ichigo said. "There's usually a lot of food at my house, so I guess being hungry all the time won't be as much of a problem."

Kisshu smiled happily, and he looked even happier when Sakura came over with the ice cream. "Here you go," she said, putting their orders in front of them and sitting down with her own.

Kisshu took a bit of his, and his eyes lit up. "This tastes great!" he said.

"Just don't eat it too fast," Sakura warned him. "You'll get a headache."

Kisshu nodded and kept eating. Ichigo was eating hers as well, looking very content. "How's yours, Mom?" she asked.

"Good, thanks," Sakura said.

Ichigo smiled, and watched Kisshu eat his as she ate. He seemed to really enjoy it. Then she noticed he had chocolate on his nose, and giggled. He looked at her, and said, "What?"

"You've got chocolate on your nose," Ichigo said.

Kisshu turned pink and grabbed a napkin, then wiped the chocolate off. "Did I get it off?" he asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. Kisshu looked back at his bowl, then sighed. "It's gone…." he said sadly.

"Maybe we'll get some at the grocery store, which is our next stop," Sakura said.

Kisshu perked up, then realized that meant getting back in the car. "I still don't like cars," he said.

"The grocery store is five minutes away, it won't be too bad," Sakura said. "If you want, you can teleport home after that."

Kisshu perked up a bit, and said, "That sounds good."

"Let's get going, then," Sakura said. "Throw the dishes in the trash, and we'll get going."

Kisshu and Ichigo obeyed, and they headed out.

**I made it to almost 9 pages again! Review and tell me what you think!**


	13. Problems

**Namida Chapter 13:**

**Problems**

After the grocery store, Kisshu teleported home, and Sakura drove Ichigo back. They unloaded the groceries, and Sakura went to go sign Kisshu up for school. Shintaro had told the school that Ichigo had been sent to her uncle's until they got back from their cruise, and apologized for neglecting to tell the school. Luckily they accepted it.

Ichigo and Kisshu started putting the groceries away as Sakura called the school. As they were finishing, Sakura came in and said, "Kisshu, you and Ichigo are starting school Monday, so you'll have the weekend to get ready. You have all your classes together, and I told the principal that Ichigo should be the one to show you around."

"Thanks, Sakura," Kisshu said.

"Sure," Sakura said, smiling. "You and Ichigo go have fun; I'm going to start the apple crisp."

"Yay!" Kisshu said happily. "Koneko-chan, can we go back to your room now?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. Kisshu took her hand happily and pulled her upstairs. He seemed enthusiastic about something, but it faded a bit when Ichigo's cell phone rang. "Lettuce," Ichigo sighed, and picked up. "Hi Lettuce," she said.

"_Ichigo-san, can we talk?" _Lettuce asked.

"Does it have something to do with your evil boyfriend?" Ichigo asked warily.

Lettuce sighed. _"I don't find him evil, but yes," _she said.

Ichigo sighed. "Fine…. What's up?" she asked.

"_Are you sure he can't be here?" _Lettuce asked.

"Positive, and I'm not telling his mom that he should come back," Ichigo said. "I don't see any reason for Pai being here, especially if his parents feel that it's not safe. They've known him longer than we have, and I'm certainly not going to argue with not having the guy who tried to kill my boyfriend and his nine-year-old brother around. I'm sorry, and I know you're not going to like me for this, but I absolutely refuse to say anything in his defense. I imagine it's hard that he can't be here for you, but you don't really have much say over his parents' decision to send him home. Just be grateful he didn't actually manage to kill Taruto; Yuki said killing children is punishable by death."

"_Why does it have to be this way?" _Lettuce asked sadly.

Before Ichigo could respond, Kisshu grabbed her cell phone and said, "Would you want the guy who tried to kill YOU around? Taruto and I nearly died, and you're still defending him? Why is that? I can't understand why you have feelings for an emotionless zombie who doesn't care about his younger siblings."

Ichigo's cat hearing came in handy as Lettuce said, _"Pai has emotions, he's just not good at showing them."_

"That doesn't change the fact that he tried to kill me and Taruto simply because we wanted something he didn't think was right," Kisshu said. "The best reason that _jerk _came up with for why he tried to kill us was that we kept making comments about fish. All siblings fight, and tease each other, but they do NOT try to kill each other. Not to mention the fact he's continually reminding me that I'm adopted. Do you have any idea how hard it is not to have your real parents, and on top of that, hear your adoptive brother tell you five million times that you're basically a charity case? I used to trust Pai, but I found out the hard way that I really shouldn't have done so. If you want to love him, fine. But Ichigo and I are not helping you convince Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako that he should be allowed to be on Earth, much less help with the truce. Pai never wanted to form a truce; he just wanted to fight for Deep Blue. Forming a truce with you guys was MY idea."

"_Um…. Can I go back to talking with Ichigo?" _Lettuce asked. _"I don't think we're really going to agree on this…"_

"Oh, fine," Kisshu said, and handed the phone back to Ichigo, who sighed and said, "So is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"_Not really,"_ Lettuce said sadly. _"I just wanted someone to talk to, but I guess you and Pudding aren't really into listening to stuff about the guy who tried to kill their boyfriends."_

Ichigo sighed. "I'm not, but at least you know he loves you, and he got to tell you that before he got sent back," she said. "Wouldn't it be worse if he had just left without telling you how he felt?"

"_Yeah," _Lettuce said. _"I'll see you around, Ichigo-san."_

"Bye Lettuce," Ichigo said, and hung up. Then she looked at Kisshu, who looked grouchy. "I take it you now hate Lettuce as well?" she asked mildly.

Kisshu sighed. "I don't hate her, but I don't understand how she can defend his actions. Doesn't she have a younger brother?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Ichigo asked.

"I was following Pai around for fun, and found him spying on her family," Kisshu said. "I assumed the little boy was her brother."

"Sounds like Pai was stalking Lettuce," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, I can't believe he complained so much about me," Kisshu said. "What a hypocrite."

"Yup," Ichigo said. "So, why'd you drag me up here?"

"Just for fun," Kisshu said. "I like fun."

"We've got the whole weekend for fun," Ichigo said. "Then it's back to school. My teachers are probably going to kill me. I missed three weeks and didn't tell them. I hope my dad's excuse will placate them a bit."

"Me too," Kisshu said. "So what are your friends like?"

"I only have Moe and Miwa," Ichigo said. "Not many girls like me, because they all had crushes on the treehugger, and me being with him was annoying to them. Moe and Miwa weren't like that, though. Anyone who hurts me goes down in flames at their hands. They beat up Aoyama for breaking my heart, and anyone who insults me gets at the very least a black eye. They'll beat up anyone, girl or boy, who hurts me. And they're very wary of people they don't know being around me. I told them not to scare you, though. In some ways, they're worse than my dad, but I can't imagine not having them."

"What happens if they don't like me?" Kisshu asked.

"I can't see any reason for them not to like you," Ichigo said. "And once they get used to having you around, I'm sure they'll be fine. They said hi to you at the ice cream place, remember?"

"Does that mean something?" Kisshu asked.

"If they don't give you the evil eye, it means they're getting used to you," Ichigo said. "And you gave Moe an excuse to stop bringing her least favorite fruit to school. I think they'll warm up to you pretty quickly. Don't be offended if they ask you whether you're into other girls, k? They're still steaming about Aoyama, so some of the things they say might seem a bit harsh."

"I'll just tell them I never plan on finding anyone else besides you," Kisshu said. "We're soulmates, so there's no reason for me to find anyone else. No one could be better than you, Koneko-chan."

"Th-thanks Kisshu," Ichigo said happily. "I've never been happier in my life."

Kisshu smiled, and kissed her. She kissed back happily, and they stayed like that until someone knocked on the door. They broke apart reluctantly, and Ichigo called, "Come in!"

Shintaro came in and said, "The apple crisp is ready, and apparently there's vanilla ice cream to go with it. Come get it while it's hot."

"YAY!" Ichigo and Kisshu said, and followed Shintaro downstairs. Sakura was dishing out the apple crisp and ice cream, and handed them each a bowl. "Go sit at the table, I'll be right there," she said.

The others went to the table, and Sakura came in after putting the ice cream away. Kisshu took a bite of his and started looking blissfully happy. "You like it?" Sakura asked.

"I LOVE it!" Kisshu said happily. "Thanks for making this, Sakura."

"Sure, it's a nice change of pace," Sakura said. "I like apples, but unfortunately, Shintaro is too obsessed with certain other things to appreciate the REST of my cooking."

"Okay! Okay! I get the picture, and I'll stop talking about bananas forever!" Shintaro said. "NOW will you let me be?"

"Oh, fine," Sakura said as Ichigo and Kisshu giggled.

Shintaro muttered something that Sakura obviously didn't catch, because she looked puzzled when Ichigo and Kisshu's smiles dropped off their faces. "What'd he say?" she asked.

"He said, "I can't wait till they have their own place," Kisshu said glumly.

Sakura stood up and said, "That does it! Shintaro, call Kai and tell him you need to stay at his house until your wife decides you've changed your ways. If you don't, I will call him, and tell him that he needs to drag you to his place. GOT IT!?"

"Got it," Shintaro said glumly, and went to find the phone as Ichigo and Kisshu started looking really sad.

"Dad doesn't like us…." Ichigo moaned.

"It's my fault he doesn't like us," Kisshu sighed.

Sakura said firmly, "Both of you come here."

They came over, and she hugged them together as they buried their faces in her shoulders. "None of this is your fault," she told them softly. "Kisshu, you didn't choose to be allergic to bananas, and I was sick of them in any case. Shintaro will learn to live without them, and maybe spending some time away from us will help him realize that it's not okay for him to make comments like that. Also, the friend I'm sending him to hates bananas, and his wife is my best friend. I will be calling her, and she can give him a piece of her mind as well. Shintaro needs a lesson, and that's what I'm going to give him. What he said was NOT okay, and he's going to have to live with the consequences of making you two sad. It's not your fault he's acting like this, and I want you to remember that, k?"

"K…" Ichigo said sadly, sniffing. Kisshu didn't respond, and Ichigo and Sakura looked at him, just as his shoulders started shaking. Ichigo let go of her mother and started stroking Kisshu's hair as Sakura hugged him tighter. "It's not your fault," Sakura said softly. "Don't think you caused this. It's hard hearing something mean like that, isn't it?"

"Mmhm…" Kisshu mumbled.

"Let's go back to Ichigo's room, we can talk there," Sakura said. She slowly let go of Kisshu, and took his hand, then led him and Ichigo up to Ichigo's room. They sat down on the bed, and Kisshu said sadly, "I'm tired…."

"Do you want to go to sleep for a while?" Sakura asked gently.

"Only if Koneko-chan stays…" Kisshu said.

"I'll stay," Ichigo said. "I'll cuddle, too. I'm kind of sleepy too. I think being sad makes us tired."

"Okay," Sakura said. "Do you want me to stay too?"

"Can you sing?" Ichigo asked sleepily.

"Sure sweetie," Sakura said. She tucked them in, and started singing softly.

"_Nenneko, nenneko,_

_Nenneko yo._

_Oraga akanbo no,_

_Neta rusu ni,_

_Azuki wo yonagete,_

_Kome toide,_

_Aka no mama e,_

_Toto soete,_

_Aka no ii-ko ni,_

_Kureru-zo!_

_Nenneko, nenneko,_

_Nenneko yo._

_Oraga akanbo wa,_

_Itsu dekita?_

_San-guatsu sakura no_

_Saku toki ni_

_Dori de o-kao ga,_

_Sakura-iro._

_Nenneko, nenneko,_

_Nenneko yo!_

_Netara o-kaka e tsurete ina!_

_Okitara gagama ga totte kama!_

By the time Sakura had finished the lullaby Ichigo liked, both Ichigo and Kisshu were fast asleep. Sakura smiled as Ichigo snuggled up to Kisshu in her sleep, and he did the same. Then she sat down in Ichigo's desk chair to watch them.

**Cute, right? I don't own the song, and this site won't let me put up the name of the website. If you know it, please don't sue me. Instead, please review!**


	14. School

**Namida Chapter 14:**

**School**

Kisshu and Ichigo woke up a little later that night, and Sakura noticed. "Are you two feeling any better?" she asked gently.

"I guess," Kisshu said.

"I don't want to see Dad for a while," Ichigo said.

"You won't have to, I called Mika and Kai, and told them that Shintaro will be staying the week with them. Mika's currently lecturing him," Sakura said.

"Good," Ichigo said. "I'm hungry."

"Me too," Kisshu said.

"Let's order pizza," Sakura said. "Is pepperoni okay?"

"Yep," Ichigo said.

"What's pizza?" Kisshu asked.

"It's a large flat bread with tomato sauce, cheese and other toppings, like meat and veggies," Sakura said.

"That sounds good," Kisshu said.

"Okay, I'll go call the pizza place and they can bring it over," Sakura said. She left to get the phone.

They ate dinner together that night, and then Ichigo and Kisshu went back to bed.

The rest of the weekend went pretty quickly, and Monday morning, Ichigo and Kisshu got ready to go to school. Kisshu was kind of nervous, but Ichigo told him it would be fine. She decided not to mention that he'd have a lot of girls looking at him, since that would probably scare him off.

They walked to school, getting there on time, and Ichigo took Kisshu to the office to check in. The receptionist asked, "You're Ikisatashi Kisshu, correct?"

"Hai," Kisshu said.

She looked at her schedule, and said, "You're all set. Ichigo will show you around."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. He followed Ichigo to their first class, Japanese History. Moe and Miwa walked in right after them, and came to sit with them. "So, you're going to our school, Kisshu?" Miwa asked.

"Yep," Kisshu said. "Ichigo's in all my classes. Sakura did a nice job."

"I guess that means we'll all be together," Moe said. "We're in all Ichigo's classes too. Oh, by the way, thanks for telling me you're allergic to bananas. I told my mom, and she finally said I could stop bringing those disgusting things."

"Glad I could help," Kisshu said. "Sometimes talking about them makes me feel sick too."

"Wow…" Moe said. "That's one bad allergy."

"Yeah, but as long as we don't mention bananas or anything banana-related, Kisshu will be fine," Ichigo said.

"How's your dad doing with this?" Miwa asked.

"He's currently staying with Kai and Mika for saying that he can't wait till we have our own place," Ichigo said. "My mom kicked him out for a week. Kisshu and I got really sad."

"I'm sorry," Miwa said. "I didn't know. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it, Kisshu looks sad again."

Ichigo looked at Kisshu, who looked a bit sad, and said, "Kisshu, it'll be fine. Like Mom said, it's not your fault."

Kisshu looked at her and smiled. "Thanks Koneko-chan," he said.

Moe and Miwa giggled. "That's a cute nickname," Miwa said.

"Ichigo's my kitten," Kisshu said. "That's why I call her Koneko-chan."

"I love it," Ichigo said. "Here comes the teacher, let's get ready."

The teacher came to the front of the room, and said, "We've got a new student with us, and I want you all to make him feel welcome. Ikisatashi Kisshu, please stand up so everyone can see you."

Kisshu obeyed, and sat down when the teacher nodded. "Okay, let's start," the teacher said. She started passing around worksheets, and everyone got to work- sort of. The other girls besides Ichigo, Moe and Miwa had noticed Kisshu already, and had all decided that he was their new target.

By the third class, Ichigo, Moe and Miwa noticed the girls looking at Kisshu dreamily and got wary. Kisshu didn't seem to notice a thing, but he had been working the whole time.

Recess came, and Ichigo asked, "Is eating outside a good idea?"

"Let's try it; if it gets too horrendous, we start eating in abandoned classrooms," Moe said. "We all know the cafeteria's a disaster area."

"What are you talking about?" Kisshu asked. "What's wrong with eating outside?"

"A lot of other people do it, and the girls are starting to notice you," Moe said. "We just have to be careful, because when the girls find someone they think is hot, they start getting competitive."

"But I already have a girlfriend," Kisshu said.

"They're not going to care," Miwa said. "Let's go eat, but be careful."

"Yep," Ichigo said.

They took their lunches outside, and went to sit under a large tree. Sure enough, they got noticed right away. Miwa and Moe sighed. Ichigo noticed and said, "You can only beat them up if they insult me, not for no reason. If you two get suspended, Kisshu and I are screwed."

"Oh, fine," Moe said sulkily.

"What do you think, pack or one by one?" Miwa asked.

"Pack," Ichigo said. She noticed a group of girls heading their way, and said, "I was right. And guess who the leader is."

"Nori?" Miwa asked.

"Yup," Ichigo sighed.

"Uh… what's going on?" Kisshu asked.

"Nori is evil," Miwa said. "And on top of that, she's got followers. And the lot of them are currently headed our way."

"What did we do?" Kisshu asked.

"Nothing, they all want to eat lunch with you," Moe sighed. "And they want us out of the way."

"I honestly don't know why any boy in their right mind would date Nori," Ichigo said. "She's completely evil, and the only people not afraid of her are us. And the only reason I'm not afraid is because I have Moe and Miwa. If I didn't have you two, I'd be dead."

"We're always happy to help," Moe said. Then she whispered, "Uh-oh, they're here."

Ichigo sighed and whispered softly to Kisshu, "Whatever you do, no swords, k?"

Kisshu nodded as the group of girls reached them. The girl in the lead was Nori, and, ignoring Moe, Miwa and Ichigo, she said sweetly, "Kisshu, would you like to eat with us?"

"No thanks," Kisshu said, not looking up as he took a bite out of his apple. "Especially not with the amount of bananas you've got over there."

"Bananas?" one of the girls asked.

"I'm severely allergic to them," Kisshu said, taking another bite of his apple. "Are you going away?"

"Why?" Nori asked.

"Because I want to eat my lunch in peace," Kisshu said.

"With these losers?" Nori asked spitefully.

"They're not losers," Kisshu said. "And Ichigo is my girlfriend, so I'd suggest not insulting her."

"You LIKE her!?" Nori asked incredulously. Obviously she was not smart, because Moe and Miwa were about to blow, and she apparently didn't care. The other girls noticed, and started backing away as Nori said, "Ichigo's nothing."

That did it. Moe and Miwa stood up, and everyone except Nori ran for their lives. Nori didn't get a chance to run; Moe and Miwa grabbed her, threw her on the ground, and promptly started beating her up. "Can I help?" Kisshu asked.

"No, we're fine," Miwa said, as she broke Nori's nose. "Take Ichigo back inside, you probably don't want to be seen with us right now."

"Uh… okay," Kisshu said. He helped Ichigo up and walked back inside with her. "I didn't get to help," Kisshu said plaintively when they were inside.

"Believe me, you'd just be in the way," Ichigo said. "Two against one, they're fine. If there's a pack, then you might as well join in if you feel like it, but if it's just one person, let them be, and the person will go down in flames."

They both looked out the window as a man shouted, "Moe! Miwa! That's enough, let her live!"

There were suddenly quite a lot of people looking out the windows, and they saw Moe and Miwa reluctantly get off Nori. Suddenly a boy tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, and said, "What'd she do?"

"Said I was nothing," Ichigo sighed. "Hey, I haven't seen you before, are you new?"

"Yeah, but the whole school knows about Moe and Miwa, and I've been forewarned," the boy said. "I suppose my date with Nori is going to be canceled."

"You transferred here from that insane asylum down the way, didn't you?" Ichigo asked dryly. "Nori is evil. No one in their right mind would go out with her."

"That explains the weird looks I've been getting," the boy said. "Thanks for warning me, Momomiya-san."

"Sure, I just don't think it's fair that she picked the new kid to go out with," Ichigo said. "Then again, everyone who's been here a while knows better than to date her."

The boy sighed, then looked at Kisshu. "You're new too, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, started today," Kisshu said. "I'm Kisshu, what's your name?"

"Hiro, it's nice to meet you," Hiro said. "So what school did you go to before?"

"I was being homeschooled," Kisshu said. "Ichigo's family adopted me and her mom decided to sign me up for this school."

"You get to live with your girlfriend?" Hiro asked.

"Yep, I'm the luckiest guy in the world," Kisshu said happily. "Unfortunately, her dad is upset because I'm severely allergic to bananas, and he likes banana bread."

"That doesn't sound fun," Hiro said.

"It's not, and my mom just kicked him out for a week because of his complaining," Ichigo said. "He told us he couldn't wait till we had our own place, and my mom kicked him out- to her best friend's house, where he'll never hear the end of it. He should be better behaved when he comes back on Sunday."

"Wow…" Hiro said.

The bell rang, and Hiro said, "Maybe I'll see you around. Bye!"

"Bye," Ichigo and Kisshu said. They then headed upstairs to the next class. To Ichigo's surprise, Moe and Miwa were there already. "You guys didn't get suspended for once?" she asked.

"The principal's decided to give up on us," Moe said. "We told him what Nori said, and he said, "I give up. I'll stop suspending you, it's a waste of my time and the phone lines. One rule, though. No killing them." We started dancing after he left to take Nori to the nurse."

"That's wonderful!" Ichigo said happily.

"Yep," Miwa said happily. "Now we can protect you and not get in trouble."

The rest of the day was uneventful, and they all went home afterwards.

**More tomorrow! Till then, REVIEW!**


	15. Issues

**Namida Chapter 15:**

**Issues**

When Ichigo and Kisshu got home, Sakura wasn't there. Kisshu started looking worried, and said, "Where's Sakura?"

"Let's see if she left a note," Ichigo said. She went to the kitchen and found a note. "This says she ran out of apples and went to buy more so she can make apple cake," she told Kisshu.

Kisshu looked happier, and said, "I like anything with apples."

Ichigo smiled. "I know." Her cell phone rang, and seeing it was Keiichiro, she picked up. "What's up, Keiichiro?" she asked.

"_We've agreed on a truce, and I need you and Kisshu here," _Keiichiro said.

"We're on our way," Ichigo said. She hung up, and took the note her mother had left, and wrote, _We're at the Café, we'll be back soon._

"What's up?" Kisshu asked.

"Keiichiro says they've agreed on a truce, and we need to go to the Café," Ichigo said. "Can you teleport me?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. He took her hand and teleported.

They landed in the basement, and found everyone else already there, including Yuki and Hayako. "Good, you're here," Keiichiro said. "Yuki, Hayako and I have agreed to a truce, and I'll tell you what's going to happen. Hayako will be taking the Mew Aqua we have to Cyniclonia, and healing the planet. He and Yuki have decided, however, that since Taruto and Kisshu will be staying on Earth, they would like to stay as well. They and Taruto will be moving in with Pudding and her siblings, so Pudding and her family will have adults with them. There is one more thing, however, and I know you're all going to hate me for this. I'm bringing Pai back to Earth."

"WHY!?" Everyone except Lettuce, Yuki and Hayako shouted in unison.

Keiichiro sighed. "I got a call from Lettuce's mother a few days ago, saying that she had stopped her from killing herself. As far as Mrs. Midorikawa could tell, Lettuce was depressed because Pai left, and couldn't take it anymore. Therefore, since I'm the only person who knows Pai that she knows of, she called me, and asked if she could come over. I agreed, and she came and told me she found Lettuce with a knife in her room. She took the knife away, and ended up having to knock Lettuce out. Lettuce left a note on her desk, and it mentioned Pai, so Mrs. Midorikawa called me, and when she came over, broke down and begged me to bring Pai back. I talked with Yuki and Hayako, and while they're not happy with me either, they have agreed to go get Pai when they heal their planet. I'm not saying the rest of you have to interact with Pai; you don't have to see him if you don't want to. I convinced Lettuce's mother to take him in, and he'll be going to her school. I didn't invite him to work at the Café, either. I KNOW you're all angry, and I'm well aware that it may seem unsafe, but Yuki and Hayako are going to tell him that even though he's allowed to be with Lettuce, he is not allowed to interact with any of the rest of you. Lettuce doesn't live near any of you, so even though he'll be in Tokyo, it's quite possible you'll never even have to see him. And Lettuce will not be allowed to bring him to the Café, nor can he come pick her up. He'll be informed that he's not allowed to interact with any of you except Lettuce, but I really think that this is for the best."

Kisshu and Taruto both clenched their jaws, and rather than speaking, teleported out, grabbing Ichigo and Pudding at the same time. "That didn't go well," Mint commented dryly.

_**With Kisshu, Ichigo, Taruto and Pudding: **_They had all ended up in the same place- the clearing Kisshu had found with the little fountain. "I cannot _believe _Keiichiro's letting that monster come back," Kisshu growled.

"I also can't believe he got Mom and Dad on board," Taruto said.

"The fact that Yuki felt sorry for Lettuce probably didn't help," Ichigo sighed. "At least he's not allowed near the rest of us, but I still feel like Earth would be better off without Pai around."

"No kidding," Kisshu snarled. "He'll probably break that rule too. He already broke the law our people have about attacking children; it's pretty obvious that he doesn't care about rules. And he was the one who was dead set against forming a truce; is it really a good idea to let someone who wanted the human race dead live on Earth?"

"Doubtful," Ichigo said. "I sure didn't expect Lettuce to try to kill herself over this, though."

"I still don't understand what she sees in him," Taruto said. "I've known him my whole life, and all I see is an emotionless zombie- who apparently doesn't care about his family."

"He doesn't care about anything," Kisshu said. "How do we know he even cares about Lettuce?"

"Pai told Lettuce-oneechan goodbye," Pudding said. "Pudding thinks that he only cares about Lettuce-oneechan. Pudding still doesn't want him around, but at least Yuki and Hayako will be here to control him now. Maybe this time he won't try to kill Taru-Taru and Kisshu-oniichan."

"He's not going to get the chance, I'm staying far away from him if I ever see him again," Kisshu said.

"Well, hopefully we'll never see that jerk again," Ichigo said. "Lettuce doesn't live close to any of us, and she goes to a special school for kids who are smarter than their age group. We'll probably never see Pai again, even if he does live in Tokyo."

"Let's hope not," Taruto said. "I guess we should get back home, it's almost dark."

"Mom's gonna freak," Ichigo commented. "Much as I'd love to stay here, we should go."

"Okay," Kisshu sighed, and teleported her back to their home. They landed in the kitchen, and Sakura looked up. "Oh, good, I was getting worried," she said. "Keiichiro called and told me the news, and that the two of you stormed out. Are you both okay?"

"For now, but if I see Pai one more time, I'm not going to be fine, because I can't kill him," Kisshu said. "Aunt Yuki would never let me hear the end of it."

"Well, hopefully the rules they're setting will keep him away," Sakura said.

"They'd better," Kisshu grumbled.

"Would apple cake cheer you up?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe…" Kisshu said.

"I already cut two pieces, they're on the counter behind you," Sakura said.

"Thanks," Kisshu said, and picked up a piece of cake, then bit into it.

"Kisshu, go sit down with that," Sakura said. "I don't want crumbs on my floor."

"Sorry," Kisshu said, and followed by Ichigo, sat down at the table. "This is really good," he said, sounding happier.

"I'm glad," Sakura said. "What do you two want for dinner?"

"Can we have noodle salad?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure, I'll go start that," Sakura said. "You should go get your homework started."

Ichigo and Kisshu sighed and went upstairs. Then they got out their homework, and started working on it together. They found out that it was easier to do with a partner, and by the time Sakura called them down for dinner, they were done.

The next day, they went back to school. Kisshu still wasn't in a very good mood, and Ichigo wasn't exactly happy either. Moe and Miwa noticed right away, and Moe asked, "Okay, what happened?"

"Your dad didn't hurt you again, did he?" Miwa asked. "Cause if he did, we're coming to your house after school to give him a piece of our minds."

"No, Dad's still at Kai and Mika's," Ichigo sighed. "Which is good, because I don't think I can handle him right now."

"This must be pretty serious," Moe commented.

"My evil brother is coming back," Kisshu grumbled. "And if he tries to kill me one more time, I'm going to ask Aunt Yuki if I can just strangle him."

"Your brother tried to KILL you!?" Miwa asked, horrified.

"And my other, _9-year-old _brother," Kisshu said. "I have no idea what the hell he was thinking, but I now hate him for eternity."

"If he comes near you, let us know, and we'll beat him up, regardless of whether or not he has a weapon," Miwa said.

Kisshu perked up at that, and said, "Thanks. He's apparently forbidden to have any contact with any of us, but if he does attack me and/or Ichigo, I'll let you know. We'd better get to class."

The girls looked at the clock, squeaked, and ran for the classroom, followed by Kisshu. The first class quickly went from History to disaster. The girls had decided to try to pass notes to Kisshu, who was already in a bad mood. After about fifteen minutes of girls trying to pass him notes, Kisshu raised his hand. The teacher looked at him, and he said, "Can I be excused?"

"Why?" the teacher asked.

"Because I'm going to strangle the next person to throw paper at me, and I don't really want to go to jail for strangling someone," Kisshu said.

The teacher stood up, and quite a few girls gulped. "Kisshu, how many papers are there?" the teacher asked.

"I lost count," Kisshu said. "Do you want them?"

"Yes," the teacher said. "Bring them up here."

Kisshu picked up about ten pieces of paper, and brought them to the teacher. The rest of the class waited nervously as the teacher opened one and read out, "Dear Kisshu-kun, would you like to eat with me today? Signed, Biruka Tsuki." Everyone in the class looked at a girl in the middle row who was now bright red. The teacher sighed and said, "If you lot don't stop, I will be reading every paper out to the entire class. I suggest that you stop bugging Kisshu, and do your work. The ten people who wrote these notes are now in detention for a week, and if you don't stop, it'll be two weeks."

The bell rang, and the teacher said, "I'll inform the ten people of their punishments later, after I read those sappy love notes."

Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe and Miwa went out of the classroom, noticing the boys looking hostile. One of them came up to Kisshu, and said, "Did you have to humiliate Tsuki?"

"I didn't, she brought it on herself," Kisshu said. "If she's your girlfriend, go tell her to be more faithful, and don't bug me about it. I'm already in a bad mood, I don't need it made worse."

Another guy tapped the first guy on the shoulder and said, "He's got a point, Kyou. Tsuki isn't being very faithful."

"Oh, fine," Kyou said sulkily. "Besides, I don't want Ichigo's scary friends on my tail."

"What was that again?" Moe said in a sweet voice.

"NOTHING! I swear!" Kyou screamed, and ran for his life, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

"He'll now be the laughingstock of Daikon Middle School," another guy said. "Who knew Kyou screamed like a girl?"

The others started talking about Kyou, and Moe said, "That's settled, let's get to Math."

"I hate math," Kisshu grumbled.

"You'll live," Ichigo said. Then she noticed a bunch of girls looking at them, and said, "Or not."

Moe and Miwa noticed the girls, and went over as Ichigo and Kisshu went into the classroom. A minute later Moe and Miwa sat down with them and said, "We told them we'd make their lives a living hell if they bugged you."

Kisshu grinned. "Thanks."

The class was better, since the group of girls had been subdued, but next class, things started to heat up again. This time it was whisperers, because the one girl who placed a note on Kisshu's desk got her note crumpled up. The others didn't want that, apparently, so they started whispering. It was extremely hard to concentrate. Finally the teacher noticed what was going on, and shouted, "ENOUGH WHISPERING! Everyone except Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa now has an F for the day."

After that, the class shut up and went back to work- except for a few of the girls, who had apparently decided that seeing as they already had F's, they could get away with staring at Kisshu rather than working. They were proven wrong as the teacher said, "Alright, I hope that you know that this worksheet was preparation for tomorrow's quiz, so if you didn't finish, you're not going to do too well."

Ichigo, Moe, Miwa and Kisshu all smiled, and took their finished papers up to the teacher. "Thanks," she said. "You all get A's for working."

"Thanks, Sensei," the four of them said. Then they packed up for the next class. It was Science, and the teacher was watching them mix chemicals, so it wasn't too horrendous.

Next was recess, and Moe said, "Let's just eat on the roof, most people don't go there."

"Okay," Ichigo said.

They went to the roof, and took out their lunches, sitting down to eat. Little did they know, someone had spotted them, and now the pack was closing in. They heard footsteps on the stairs, and groaned. "Here comes the pack," Moe said.

She was right, as a group of girls came up the stairs. "We're trapped," Kisshu said gloomily.

Moe and Miwa stood up and asked the girls, "What do you want? We were eating."

"We wanted to eat with Kisshu," the girl in front said.

"Too bad," Moe said.

"Why not let Kisshu decide?" the girl said.

"Moe's right, tough luck," Kisshu said. "We were eating, and we'd all appreciate you leaving us in peace."

"Why do you even like those losers?" the girl asked.

"Because they're not losers, and Ichigo is my girlfriend," Kisshu said calmly. "NOW are you leaving?"

"We're not giving up," the girl said. "Ichigo's nothing."

Kisshu looked at Moe, and asked, "Is it against school rules to throw her off the roof?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Moe sighed. Then she smirked. "But you're welcome to help us beat the lot of them to a pulp!"

"They're still on the staircase, why not just shove the lot of them down?" Kisshu asked.

"Good plan," Miwa said, and she, Moe and Kisshu started forward. Some of the girls started to edge away, but still got caught up in the snowball effect created when Kisshu, Moe and Miwa shoved the girls on the very top step backwards. The lot of them rolled down the staircase in a tangle, with a bunch of screaming. Kisshu, Moe and Miwa looked happy as they went back to Ichigo, who had finished lunch.

"Now I'm in a much better mood," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled. "I'm glad," she said. "I don't like seeing you upset."

"Same here," Kisshu said. "I don't like seeing you upset either. Hey, now that we're free from weirdoes, can I have a kiss?"

"Of course, you can have a kiss anytime you want," Ichigo said with a smile, and kissed him. He kissed back, his eyes sliding shut happily.

When they broke apart, Moe said, "You two are so cute."

"Thanks," Kisshu said.

They heard footsteps on the stairs, and turned warily. The principal came up and looked at them. "Did you really have to push those girls down a flight of stairs?" he asked wearily.

"They wouldn't leave us alone," Kisshu said, shrugging. "And I tried asking nicely. They deserved it."

"You sound like Moe and Miwa," the principal said dryly. "Except for the fact that they never ask nicely."

"Why should we?" Miwa asked. "If someone hurts Ichigo or Kisshu, they need to be taken down. It's that simple."

"Great…" the principal sighed. "I suppose telling you to tone it down will do me no good, so just don't kill them, okay?"

"Oh, fine," Miwa said. "So I take it the death threat we made out to Nori isn't okay to send out?"

"WHAT!?" the principal shouted. "_Death threat!?"_

"She's evil," Moe said. "Evil people should go down harder than just plain mean people. So we made out this death threat, and we were going to stuff it in her locker. Wanna read it?"

The principal held out a hand, and Miwa took a piece of paper out of her pocket. The principal took it, and read, "Konizuka Nori, you have committed a grave offense on a fellow human being. You now have seven days to live. Use them wisely."

Ichigo and Kisshu were doubled up laughing as the principal shouted, "What is WRONG with you two!?"

"Nothing, why?" Miwa asked.

"You wrote this girl a death threat simply for insulting your best friend!?" the principal asked incredulously. "Are you two INSANE!?"

"Seriously, you didn't notice?" Moe asked. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"NO MORE DEATH THREATS!" the principal shouted. "AND QUIT LAUGHING!"

"We can't!" Kisshu gasped. "Boy is class going to be hard after that…"

"You four are coming with me to the office," the principal said.

The four teens sighed and followed the principal to his office. He closed the door, and sighed. "While I appreciate you keeping the bullying from getting out of hand, I draw the line at death threats in people's lockers, no matter how evil the person may be," he said. "And combined with the earlier incident with the stairs, I do have to do something. Moe, Miwa, you are now suspended for the rest of the week, and since I know Ichigo and Kisshu will get creamed without you around, I'll call Mrs. Momomiya and explain the situation."

The four teens sighed as the principal picked up the phone, and dialed Ichigo's house. When he got a response, he said, "Mrs. Momomiya, this is Principal Izika, at Ichigo and Kisshu's school. They're not exactly in trouble, but I think they'll be safer at home for the rest of the week, since I was forced to suspend Moe and Miwa, and I know that without those two around, Ichigo and Kisshu will be toast. When? Okay, see you then."

He hung up and said, "Your mom will come and pick you up, so you can go wait outside. Moe, Miwa, please stay, I'm calling your families separately."

Ichigo and Kisshu bowed, said goodbye to Moe and Miwa, and went outside to wait for Sakura.

**Moe and Miwa are pretty funny. Review please!**


	16. Disaster Starts With a 'P'

**Namida Chapter 16:**

**Disaster Starts With a 'P'**

Sakura pulled up, and Ichigo and Kisshu got in her car. Ichigo took Kisshu's hand as Sakura asked, "What happened?"

"Moe and Miwa and I pushed a bunch of girls down a staircase, because they wouldn't leave us alone and they were insulting Ichigo," Kisshu said. "The principal came to find us, and when he asked us not to kill anyone, Miwa asked if sending out a death threat wasn't okay either."

"Wait, _death threat_!?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, they were going to stuff their neatly written death threat in Nori's locker, but the principal confiscated it and suspended them," Ichigo said.

"The death threat was hilarious," Kisshu said. "We couldn't stop laughing- until the principal said we were all going to the office."

"What'd it say?" Sakura asked.

"It said, 'Konizuka Nori, you have committed a grave offense on a fellow human being. You now have seven days to live. Use them wisely'," Ichigo said, giggling.

"Jeez, what'd she do to you?" Sakura asked.

"She said I was nothing," Ichigo said. "But she's completely evil, and she never stops being nasty to others. She's gotten beaten up by Moe and Miwa more times than I can count."

Sakura sighed. "Those two are insane," she sighed. "Someday this will come back and bite them."

"I hope not," Ichigo said. "Besides, the principal only gets mad when they go overboard. Otherwise, he doesn't mind them taking the bullies down."

"Oh well," Sakura said. "We just have to hope they don't get arrested."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Ichigo said. "I guess we've got the rest of the week off, right?"

"Yup," Sakura said. "What are you going to do?"

"Not sure yet," Ichigo said. "Maybe spend time at the park, it's nice out."

"That sounds good," Kisshu said. "I like the park."

"You two have fun," Sakura said. "I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, but I'll let you know what times when I figure it out."

"Thanks Mom," Ichigo said. "It's nice having you around now."

"That reminds me, I got a call from Mika, and she's been lecturing your dad," Sakura said. "She also said they haven't let him near any bananas, so he'll get used to the lack of bananas everywhere he goes. She says he should be better behaved by Sunday, and she's told Kai that if he even tries to go against her lectures, he'll be sleeping in the garage." Sakura smirked. "It's nice when men are scared of their wives," she said.

Ichigo giggled. Kisshu just sighed as they pulled into the driveway. "What's wrong?" Ichigo asked him.

"I'm feeling uneasy," Kisshu said. "It's not about Shintaro being mean again, though."

"Do you think Pai's going to do something?" Ichigo asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Kisshu said. "He doesn't care about rules."

Ichigo followed him out of the car, and went inside with him. Kisshu headed off to the kitchen, while Ichigo took their bags upstairs. To her surprise, there was a note on her bed. Picking it up, she began to read, getting more and more angry after every word. This is what it said:

_Dear Ichigo, I know you hate me too, but I really want to speak with Kisshu. You're the only one who has a chance at getting him to speak with me. Please call Lettuce and she can tell you where I want to meet._

_Signed, Pai_

That did it. Ichigo stormed downstairs, and as Kisshu looked up, startled, she growled, "Read this, I'm going to Pudding's to talk with Yuki." She threw the note at him and went out the door, slamming it behind her. Then she walked all the way to Pudding's house in a REALLY bad mood. As she reached the door, she remembered that Pudding's siblings might get scared if she was in a bad mood, so she attempted to calm down a bit before ringing the doorbell. Luckily for her, it was Yuki who answered, and she looked startled. "Ichigo, is something wrong?" Yuki asked.

"Pai left a note in my room trying to convince me to tell Kisshu to meet with him," Ichigo said grouchily. "Wasn't he told to have no contact with anyone but Lettuce?"

"Yes," Yuki said. "I guess I'd better go have a talk with him- again."

"You'd better hope Kisshu didn't get there first," Ichigo said.

Yuki closed her eyes briefly and then sighed. "The two of them appear to be in that park yelling at each other," she sighed. "I'll teleport you there, and I'll try to stop them. Let me just tell Hayako." She closed her eyes again, then said, "All set, he'll be there soon. Let's go, Ichigo." She took Ichigo's hand and teleported to Inohara Park.

They landed in a deserted area, and saw Kisshu and Pai a few yards away. Hayako appeared soon after, and sighed. "I knew going along with Keiichiro's idea was a mistake," he grumbled. "Let's go stop them."

Yuki and Ichigo followed him over as Kisshu shouted, "Why should I listen to someone who tried to kill me for my opinions? You don't care about anything, Pai! I doubt you even care about Lettuce. You're a monster, and I have no clue what she sees in you!"

The comment about Lettuce had obviously hit a nerve, because Pai took out his fans. Kisshu took out his swords, but before they could attack, Hayako held out a hand. Ichigo saw a ripple in the air, and the ripple hit Pai and Kisshu. Both of them froze in place, and Hayako, Yuki and Ichigo walked up to the boys. "What's the story this time, Pai?" Yuki asked sternly. "Didn't you listen to a word Hayako and I said on the way back to Earth?"

"I just wanted to talk with Kisshu…" Pai said.

"You were expressly forbidden to do just that," Hayako said. "Unless he indicates otherwise, you are not allowed to go near him, and going into Ichigo's room is totally out of line. What is so important?"

"Apologizing," Pai said.

"I already told you, there's no way I'm going to forgive you, and it's pretty unlikely Taruto will either," Kisshu snarled. "The only two people who think it's safe to have you on Earth are Keiichiro and Lettuce, and frankly, I think they're both insane. You hate humans, you were dead set against cooperating with the Mews, you tried to kill me AND Taruto, who, by the way, is NOT adopted, you don't care about rules- need I go on? You constantly remind me that Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako are not my real parents, treat me like a charity case, chase me around with your fan every single time I tell you to go play with the fish- and you expect me to just say, "Oh, it's fine, Pai."?" You're out of your mind, and unlike Ichigo's best friends, you're evil on top of it."

"I'm NOT evil!" Pai said angrily. Then he muttered something that only Kisshu and Ichigo caught, because while Yuki and Hayako were still at least fairly calm, Ichigo blew her top, and Kisshu started looking really sad again.

"Alright, what'd he say?" Hayako asked.

"He said I am a charity case," Kisshu said sadly.

Before Yuki or Hayako could start yelling, however, Ichigo screamed her transformation, and launched herself at Pai, who still couldn't move. She clawed five lines across his face, and then started beating him up as she screamed, "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO HURT KISSHU!? WHAT THE _**HELL**_ DID HE DO TO DESERVE ALL THE THINGS YOU DO TO HIM, PAI!? MY PARENTS DON'T THINK OF HIM AS A CHARITY CASE, AND I'M PRETTY SURE YUKI AND HAYAKO DON'T EITHER! DID YOU EVER CONSIDER THAT IT'S HARD ENOUGH FOR HIM TO NOT HAVE HIS REAL PARENTS WITH HIM? IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU TRIED TO KILL HIM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ALSO KEEP TELLING HIM HOW AWFUL YOU THINK HE IS! I SWEAR, IF YOU EVER COME NEAR US AGAIN, _**I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!**_ AND I COULD CARE LESS IF YUKI AND HAYAKO HATE ME AFTERWARDS! _**GO TO HELL, PAI!"**_

By the time Ichigo finished screaming, she was literally in tears, and Pai and the others were in shock. Not to mention Pai was seriously beat up. Ichigo got off him, and detransformed, then ran away, crying.

Hayako, still totally shocked, snapped his fingers, and Kisshu and Pai could move again. Kisshu shook himself, and said, "Wow… I've never seen Ichigo like that."

Yuki sighed. "She loves you," she said softly. "When you get sad, it pushes her buttons. And this time was obviously worse. I think Pai telling you what he did may have been the last straw for her. She already hates him for trying to kill you; this was just it for her." Yuki turned to Hayako and said, "Take Pai back to Lettuce's, and tell her that if he does one more thing out of line, he will be going, and she will just have to live with it. Also tell her that she can care for his injuries; I don't see any sense in wasting energy after that."

Hayako nodded and grabbed a still-shell-shocked Pai, then teleported off. Yuki turned to Kisshu and asked, "Do you know where Ichigo is?"

Kisshu closed his eyes, then said, "She's in the big sakura tree, which means we need to go get her, because cats can't climb down. They can climb up trees, but then they can't get down."

"Let's go then," Yuki said, and teleported, followed by Kisshu.

The two Cyniclons landed under the tree, and looked up, hearing Ichigo's slight sobs. Ichigo was pretty high up this time, and Kisshu sighed softly, then floated up to her. "Koneko-chan?" he asked gently.

Ichigo looked up and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but you don't look fine," Kisshu said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I guess…" Ichigo said. "I just snapped when Pai told you you were a charity case, and suddenly I could only think about beating him to a pulp. I wonder if that's how Moe and Miwa feel when someone insults me."

"Well, I don't mind," Kisshu said. "Aunt Yuki's waiting, do you want me to get you down?"

"Yeah… sorry, I forgot that cats can't get down," Ichigo said. "And it's too far to jump."

Kisshu smiled and picked her up bridal style, then teleported to the ground. Yuki was waiting, and she asked gently, "Ichigo, are you feeling better?"

"I guess," Ichigo said. "I'm going to kill Pai if I ever see him again, though."

Yuki sighed. "Hayako took him back to Lettuce's, and is telling her that this was his last chance. If he does anything, ever again, he will be sent back to our planet, regardless of her feelings. I also told Hayako that Pai doesn't need us healing him; Lettuce is capable of caring for his injuries."

"Good," Ichigo said.

"Should I accompany you both home?" Yuki asked. "I think Sakura will want to know more about this."

"Okay, thanks," Ichigo said.

Yuki smiled and teleported to the living room, followed by Kisshu and Ichigo. When they appeared, Sakura ran in, and said, "Where were you?"

"Pai broke the rules I set for him, apparently to apologize, but things got out of hand again," Yuki said. "He told Kisshu he was a charity case, and Ichigo beat him up. I can't say I blame her; he's repeatedly ignored mine and Hayako's rules. I decided to accompany these two home, I think they're both still a bit upset."

Sakura looked worriedly at Ichigo and Kisshu, who both nodded slightly. She came over and hugged them together. They both hugged back as Yuki asked, "Is Shintaro working late?"

"Shintaro has been banned from living here until Sunday," Sakura said. "He's currently staying with a friend of his and getting lectured by his friend's wife, who is a friend of mine. I'm hoping he'll be better behaved by the time he gets back."

"Jeez, what'd he do?" Yuki asked.

"He's been complaining nonstop about the lack of bananas, and last Sunday he told Kisshu and Ichigo that he can't wait till they've got their own place," Sakura said grimly. "So I kicked him out."

Yuki looked horrified. "I can't imagine Hayako doing something like that…" she said.

"You're lucky, then," Sakura said. "Shintaro's obsessed with banana bread, which I'm sick of making anyways, so he complains nonstop. He'd better have stopped by Sunday, though, or there's going to be a major problem. I'm not going to have him constantly hurting my kids' feelings."

"Well, I hope he stops," Yuki said. "I have to get home and make dinner; I'll see you around, I'm sure."

"Alright, thanks for helping Kisshu and Ichigo," Sakura said. Yuki smiled and teleported out.

Sakura gently let Ichigo and Kisshu go, and asked, "Do you want dinner? I made shrimp tempura."

"Okay…" Kisshu said a bit sadly.

Sakura noticed he was still sad, and asked, "Kisshu, what's wrong?"

"Pai said I'm a charity case…." Kisshu said sadly.

"Don't let him get to you," Sakura said, hugging Kisshu. "I don't think you're a charity case, and neither does Shintaro. And neither do Yuki and Hayako."

"Are you sure about Shintaro?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes," Sakura said. "He'll warm up to you better once he realizes the bananas are gone for good. He may not always be nice, but he doesn't think of you as a charity case."

"Thanks," Kisshu said softly. "I'm hungry, can I have something to eat?"

Sakura smiled, and said, "Let's all have dinner. And there's chocolate raspberry bars for dessert."

"Yay!" Ichigo and Kisshu said, good moods restored. Sakura went to get dinner with a smile.

**Well, Pai's on his last chance. And Shintaro will be back soon. What will happen next? I wonder… Review plz!**


	17. Shintaro's Return

**Namida Chapter 17:**

**Shintaro's Return**

Since they had the rest of the week off, Ichigo and Kisshu spent it mainly in the little clearing, talking about different things. Both of them were still rather upset with Pai, and not happy that he was even still alive. And they weren't exactly thrilled about the coming morning, either. It was Saturday night, and Shintaro was coming back the next morning. Combine that with their already bad moods, and it was easy to see why neither of them was very optimistic about Shintaro behaving.

Sakura was doing her best to cheer them up, but nothing was really helping at this point. Especially since Moe and Miwa had been grounded, and therefore couldn't come over.

Finally Sunday morning came, and Ichigo and Kisshu got up, took showers, and went downstairs to find Sakura. She was in the kitchen, and looked up as they came in. "I made apple cake, and you can have some for breakfast," she said. "I want you to be at least civil to your dad, but you don't have to be more than civil. I'm well aware that you two are still in very bad moods. I'm not going to force you to be nice. The apple cake's on the table, so you should go eat before Kai and Mika get here with your dad."

Kisshu sighed. "Thanks," he said. "Come on, Koneko-chan, let's go eat."

"K," Ichigo said. "Thanks Mom."

"Sure sweetie," Sakura said with a smile.

Ichigo and Kisshu went to the table, and sat down to eat their apple cake. As they were finishing, they heard a car pull up, and Sakura came out. "Kisshu, are you going to change your ears? I don't think Kai and Mika know," she said.

"Fine…" Kisshu said. He went upstairs as Ichigo took their plates to the kitchen and put them in the sink, and Sakura went to get the door. Five minutes later, he came back, and Sakura called him and Ichigo into the living room. They looked at each other, sighed, and went to the living room.

There they found Sakura, a woman about her age with black hair, a man with brown hair, and a very subdued-looking Shintaro. Sakura sighed and said, "Kisshu, this is my friend Mika, and her husband Kai. Mika, Kai, this is Kisshu, Ichigo's boyfriend. We adopted him a while ago."

"It's nice to meet you, Kisshu," Mika said.

"You too," Kisshu said.

Mika smiled and said, "I spent the week knocking some sense into Shintaro here, and made sure he didn't go near any bananas. He should know that he'll be getting hell if he does this again, because it's not okay to make your kids sad, or anger your wife- right Shintaro?"

"Yes ma'am," Shintaro said gloomily.

Kisshu and Ichigo snickered, and Shintaro glared at them- only to have Mika AND Sakura whack him over the head, while Kai cringed. This succeeded in making Kisshu and Ichigo burst out laughing, and Sakura sighed, relieved. "They've been so down lately, it's nice to see them actually laughing," she said. "Thanks Mika."

"Sure Sakura," Mika said. "You know I'm always willing to help keep both Kai and Shintaro in line."

Kisshu and Ichigo laughed even harder when they saw Shintaro and Kai gulp. Sakura smiled. "I'm glad you two are happier," she said. "Maybe I should whack Shintaro more often. It seems to cheer you up."

"PLEASE don't whack me, Mika spent the whole week whacking me if she thought I wasn't listening," Shintaro said somewhat desperately.

This resulted in Kisshu and Ichigo collapsing on the couch, laughing too hard to stand up. Sakura and Mika giggled as Shintaro sighed. "I'm doomed…" he said.

"Good," Sakura and Mika said. "Doom will be good for you."

"How does THAT work?" Shintaro moaned.

"Never you mind," Sakura said. "Now, do you have something to say to Kisshu and Ichigo?"

"They appear to be laughing too hard to pay attention," Shintaro grumbled.

"We're sort of paying attention," Ichigo gasped out. "Would you like us to calm down now?"

"If you don't mind…." Shintaro grumbled.

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to stop laughing. "Kisshu, we should try to calm down," she said.

Kisshu sighed, still snickering a bit. "I'm in a better mood now," he said.

"Me too," Ichigo said, having succeeded in stopping laughing.

Sakura elbowed Shintaro in the ribs and said, "So what do you have to say?"

Shintaro sighed. "Ichigo, Kisshu, I'm sorry I hurt you, and I'll stop talking about bananas for good."

"We can live with that," Kisshu said. "Koneko-chan?"

"Just don't do it again," Ichigo said.

Shintaro looked at Mika, shuddered, and said, "Don't worry, one week was more than enough."

"Good," Sakura, Mika, Kisshu and Ichigo said.

"Now I can have both my parents around, and not hurting my feelings, right?" Ichigo asked.

"That had better be the case," Sakura said.

"It will," Shintaro said.

"We'll be going now," Mika said. "Sakura, call me if you have more problems."

"I will, thank you Mika," Sakura said. She walked Mika and Kai out, then came back. Shintaro looked at her warily.

"Are you going to scold me too?" he asked.

"Depends on your behavior," Sakura said. "You realize you made them both cry, right?"

"I didn't mean to…" Shintaro trailed off as Sakura glared at him.

"Ichigo asked me to sing them to sleep," she said. "She hasn't done that since she was six years old and that girl in school told her she wasn't worth anything. And you should be glad they didn't have to go to school, because not only were they upset about YOUR behavior, Pai decided to break Yuki's rules and left a note in Ichigo's room, which resulted in a shouting match in Inohara Park, and Ichigo beating Pai to a pulp. They've been in bad moods all week long. I hope you know that you really went too far this time, Shintaro."

"I got the picture when Mika hit me with a broom the minute I walked in the door," Shintaro said. "And I really am sorry."

"Like Ichigo said, just don't do it again," Sakura said.

"I won't," Shintaro said. "So why didn't they have school this week?"

"The principal said it was safer for them to stay home for the week he suspended Moe and Miwa," Sakura said. "It's not exactly going well there."

"So what did your friends do this time, Ichigo?" Shintaro asked.

"They were planning on stuffing a death threat into Nori's locker," Ichigo giggled. "I would have loved to see Nori's face when she read it, but the principal confiscated it."

"What'd it say?" Shintaro asked.

"It said, 'Konizuka Nori, you have committed a grave offense against a fellow human being. You now have seven days to live. Use them wisely.' It was hilarious! Kisshu and I couldn't stop laughing," Ichigo said.

"I cannot believe your friends were sending a death threat out," Shintaro said. "What was the reason?"

"She's evil," Ichigo said. "And they've beat her up fifteen times, but she doesn't get it. So after she told me I was nothing, they apparently thought up a death threat and were going to stuff it into her locker."

"They're insane," Shintaro said. "They don't seem to mind, though."

"They don't," Ichigo said. "I have the best friends on the planet Earth."

"I'd have to agree with that," Sakura said. "You'll all be going back tomorrow, so I hope you can handle it."

"We'll manage," Kisshu said. "Even though except for Ichigo, Moe and Miwa, I hate all the girls at that school. I thought it was bad on my planet, but this might actually be worse. The girls on my planet didn't write sappy love notes."

"I guess it's an idiot thing," Ichigo said. "The girls obviously don't notice how irritated you get. They're complete idiots."

Kisshu just sighed. "I wish they'd realize that you're the only girl for me, Ichigo," he said.

Ichigo blushed. "I'm glad you love me," she said.

Kisshu smiled happily, then turned to Sakura and asked, "Can we have more apple cake?"

"You let them have cake for breakfast?" Shintaro asked before Sakura could respond.

"Yes, because I wanted them to be happy enough to be civil to you, which probably wouldn't have happened without some sweetening," Sakura said.

"That bad?" Shintaro asked.

"Yep, and they've been like that for a week," Sakura said. "Of course, Pai really didn't help matters, but you're the main cause."

"Just be grateful Ichigo didn't decide to kill you if she ever saw you again," Kisshu said. "That's what she told Pai while she was beating him up."

"Ichigo wouldn't kill Shintaro," Sakura sighed.

"No, but depending on the situation, I might settle for serious injury," Ichigo grumbled. "But I wouldn't kill Dad."

"You're not getting in a bad mood again, are you?" Sakura asked.

"If we keep talking about Pai, I will be in a bad mood," Ichigo said. "Let's go eat more apple cake." She got up and went to the dining room, followed by Kisshu. Shintaro sighed and, followed by Sakura, went to see how much was left.

**I know it's short, but I wanted the next school day to be in a different chapter, so yeah. Review!**


	18. Back to School

**Namida Chapter 18:**

**Back to School**

The next morning, Ichigo and Kisshu went back to school, and were met at the gates by Moe and Miwa, who had gotten out of suspension. "We're not grounded anymore," Miwa said as they walked in. "How are you guys?"

"In better moods," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's evil brother decided to 'apologize', and things got out of hand. I transformed and beat him to a pulp after he told Kisshu he was just a charity case. When he told Kisshu that, suddenly the only thing I could think of was beating him to a pulp. Is that how you guys feel? Or is it just me?"

"That's exactly how we feel when someone hurts either of you," Moe said. "We go into what you call 'destroy mode' because when someone hurts you, the only thing we can think about is taking that person down."

"Wow…" Ichigo said. "I guess we should get to class."

They ran to class, getting there before the bell, and sitting down together. Ichigo, Moe and Miwa formed a half circle around Kisshu, which would make it harder for girls to pass him notes. What they didn't count on was the extra determination that had come on when Moe and Miwa actually got suspended for a change. About three minutes after the lesson started, one of the girls decided to get her note to Kisshu a different way, and poked Ichigo, who she thought was safer than Moe and Miwa. Ichigo, knowing the girl wanted her note passed to Kisshu, ignored the poking. However, after the fifteenth poke, Ichigo grabbed the girl's finger, and bent it back, causing her to cry out. The teacher turned, and said, "Miss Momomiya, would you care to explain your behavior?"

Ichigo let go of the girl's now-broken finger and said, "She wouldn't stop poking me, even though I tried to ignore her. I didn't mean to disrupt the lesson."

The teacher asked the girl with the broken finger wearily, "Miss Monoki, would you care to explain yourself?"

The girl flinched and said, "Not really…."

"Well, now you've got no choice," the teacher said. "You are going to explain to me right now why you felt the need to annoy your fellow students, and if this isn't a good reason, you're in detention for a week."

"I just wanted her to give this to Kisshu…" the girl said.

"Make that two weeks in detention," the teacher said. "Now go to the nurse and have her look at your finger, and then you can come back and I'll give you a slip for the detention teacher, which you WILL take to him, or I'll be calling home. Got that?"

"Hai, Sensei," the girl said glumly, and walked out.

The teacher sighed, and said, "In future, Ichigo, at least try not to break their bones."

"Hai, Sensei," Ichigo said. The teacher nodded, and the lesson continued.

When the bell rang, they went to the next class, which passed without incident. Surprisingly, the class after that was fine too.

When recess came, they headed up to the roof, and were undisturbed- for about ten minutes. To their surprise, though, the footsteps belonged to a boy who looked really sad. Kisshu looked at him, and said, "Aren't you that kid we warned not to go out with Nori?"

"Yep, I'm Hiro," the boy said.

"Why are you sad?" Ichigo asked.

"I think Nori brainwashed my best friend," Hiro said glumly. "He just told me I wasn't good for anything, and I saw him holding hands with Nori."

"I wonder why Nori would pick on you," Ichigo said.

"Probably because after Moe and Miwa beat her up, I told her our date was off," Hiro said. "Thanks for warning me about her, by the way. But now it looks like she's got my best friend."

"Who's your best friend?" Miwa asked.

"Yuzuki Hayao," Hiro said.

"That JERK is going out with NORI!?" Miwa shouted. "Jeez, he's dumber than he was the last time we saw him."

"Um… what are you talking about?" Hiro asked.

"He's the captain of the martial arts team, and he called Ichigo ugly once, so we beat him to a pulp," Miwa said. "He's a jerk."

"Why would he call Ichigo ugly? She's beautiful," Hiro said. "Kisshu's lucky…"

"Beats me why he called her ugly," Moe said. "It's like he wanted to be beaten to a pulp."

"Um… if Nori is brainwashing people, shouldn't we do something about it?" Ichigo asked. "I don't like the captain of the martial arts team any more than you do, but if it's Nori brainwashing him, we could have more trouble soon."

"We always have trouble, but you're right," Miwa sighed. "I guess we'd better go find Nori and start beating her up again."

"She's in the schoolyard, but please don't tell anyone I told you," Hiro said.

"Oh, fine…" Moe said. She looked at Miwa, Kisshu and Ichigo and said, "Let's go."

They followed her to the schoolyard, and over to a tree. "Nori's with those girls, but they've all got bananas with them," Miwa said. "Kisshu, you and Ichigo wait here unless we're about to get killed, which is unlikely."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Moe and Miwa stalked over to the girls, and asked, "Where's Nori?"

"Um… over there, but please don't tell her I told you," a girl said, pointing to the bleachers.

"Thanks," Moe said, and she and Miwa went off to the bleachers.

"Should we follow them?" Kisshu asked.

"Might as well, the girls over there are getting interested," Ichigo said. "And we both know going over there isn't going to be good for you."

Kisshu sighed and headed toward the bleachers, followed by Ichigo. As they reached the bleachers, they saw Moe beating up the captain of the martial arts team, while Miwa was totally creaming Nori. To their surprise, when the captain of the martial arts team saw them, he smirked and shoved Moe, causing her to stumble as the guy took something out of his pocket. Then he threw it at Kisshu, who caught it. Then Kisshu's eyes widened, and he threw it away. "How'd he know about my allergy?" he asked Ichigo.

"Nori must have told him," Ichigo said. "You told the girls that you're severely allergic to bananas; Nori must have told him that."

"That's not good…." Kisshu trailed off as the guy looked over at them.

"I know your little weakness," he called out. "And now that I've knocked out the girls, you're going down!" He reached down and picked up a bunch of nearly-black bananas.

"Kisshu, you have to get out of here, you'll get sick," Ichigo said. "I can smell those things from here."

"I have to make sure you, Moe and Miwa don't get hurt," Kisshu said. "Go find a teacher, I'll handle things here."

Ichigo sighed. "I'll be back as fast as I can," she said. "Remember, no swords."

"I know," Kisshu said. Ichigo nodded and ran for the building. She skidded to a stop in the entry way, right in front of the office. She flung the door open, and as the receptionist looked up, she said, "Kisshu needs help, where's the principal?"

"Here, what happened?" the principal said from behind her.

"The captain of the martial arts team knocked Moe and Miwa out while they were beating up Nori, and is currently trying to make Kisshu sick," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's severely allergic to bananas, and the guy had a lot of them. They're out by the bleachers near the gates, please hurry!"

The principal turned and ran out the doors, followed by Ichigo. By the time they got there, Kisshu was unconscious, and the captain of the martial arts team was about to beat him up. "Stop this immediately!" the principal shouted. Ichigo ran over to Kisshu, kicking his attacker where the sun doesn't shine in the process. She then dropped to her knees next to Kisshu and felt his forehead. He already had a fever, but it looked like he was waking up. "Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu opened his eyes. "That guy tried to stuff a banana in my mouth," he said. "I don't feel good…"

"You've got a fever, I'm going to call Mom," Ichigo said. "How's your stomach?"

"Not good," Kisshu said.

"There's a trash can over there," Ichigo said, pointing. "Are you able to stand up?"

"I think so, but you'd better call Sakura," Kisshu said. He got up, and ran over to the trash can as Ichigo grabbed her cell phone and dialed the home number. When Sakura picked up after three rings, Ichigo immediately said, "Mom, call Yuki and come here, we've got a problem. One of the guys found out about Kisshu's allergy, and took advantage of that."

"_On it," _Sakura said, and hung up. Ichigo looked over at Kisshu, who was throwing up. She went over, and started rubbing his back as he got everything out. The principal came over as Kisshu stopped, and said, "Is your mom on her way?"

"Hai, she should be here soon," Ichigo said.

"I took a look at Moe and Miwa; they'll be fine when they wake up," the principal said. "And Hayao is now expelled. I made him call his parents and I talked to them. I'm going to stay with Moe and Miwa, and explain what happened. You two get home."

"Thanks," Ichigo said.

About a minute later, Sakura pulled up and got out of the car, then ran over. "I called Yuki, she'll be there when we get back," she said. "We have to go back in the car, but I brought a bucket with me."

"K," Kisshu said. "I really don't feel good…."

"Then let's go home, Yuki can help," Sakura said. Kisshu and Ichigo followed her to the car, and got in. Sakura took a bucket off the front seat and handed it to Kisshu, who put it on his lap as Sakura pulled out of the schoolyard.

Kisshu threw up twice on the way back, and Ichigo noticed his face was getting more and more flushed. Finally they reached the house, just as Kisshu threw up again. Sakura and Ichigo waited till he was done, then helped him inside.

Yuki was already there, and she said, "Let's go upstairs."

Ichigo and Sakura helped Kisshu to Ichigo's room, and helped him lie down. Yuki put one hand on his chest and the other on his stomach, and began to glow. His body relaxed, and he fell asleep as Yuki healed him. Finally she took her hands away, and said softly, "He should be fine when he wakes up, but don't give him anything to eat until tomorrow; it could upset his stomach again. He didn't seem to have a lot of banana in his system, but then again, just the smell can make him sick, so actually eating some makes it worse."

"I understand," Sakura said. "I'll tell him he can't eat till tomorrow. Should I keep him home tomorrow?"

"Might be a good idea," Yuki said. "And if you do, keep Ichigo here, he tends to get a bit clingy when he's been sick."

"Okay," Sakura said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Just keep him away from anything even remotely banana-related," Yuki said. "And I'd suggest finding a place at school where no one else eats, if a lot of kids bring bananas."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "We've been eating on the roof, but we could probably talk to the principal about this too."

"That's a good idea," Yuki said. "I'm going back, call me if you need anything."

"I will, thank you," Sakura said. Yuki nodded and teleported out. Ichigo settled down next to the bed, and Sakura sat down next to her.

Four hours later, Kisshu was still asleep, and Ichigo was getting worried. Sakura was still there, and she put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine," she said softly. They were both startled when the doorbell rang, and Sakura sighed. "I'll get it," she said. She got up, and left. Ichigo turned back to Kisshu, and noticed he was starting to stir. She waited a few minutes, then asked softly, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu turned his head, and asked, "Koneko-chan?"

"I'm here, are you feeling better?" Ichigo asked, sitting on the bed with him.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better," Kisshu said, sitting up.

"I'm glad," Ichigo said with relief. "Oh, Yuki said you can't eat anything till tomorrow, k?"

"I'm not really hungry anyways," Kisshu said.

Sakura came in and saw that Kisshu was awake, and said, "Kisshu, are you feeling better?"

"I feel a lot better," Kisshu said.

"Moe and Miwa are here," Sakura said. "I said I'd come see if you were up and well enough to have visitors."

"They can come up, I don't mind," Kisshu said.

"I'll go let them know," Sakura said, and left.

A few minutes later, Moe and Miwa came in. "Kisshu, are you okay?" Miwa asked.

"I'm fine, what about you two?" Kisshu asked.

"We're fine, just embarrassed that we got knocked out by that jerk," Moe said. "We're sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault," Kisshu said. "And Aunt Yuki healed me, so I'm fine. It's nice having her and Uncle Hayako on Earth, they can both heal."

"Good," Miwa said, relieved.

"The principal expelled that jerk," Moe said. "Good riddance."

"Yeah, he told us before we left that Hayao is now expelled," Kisshu said. "I guess letting Nori know that I have such a severe allergy was a bad idea."

"Oh well," Miwa said. "We'll just have to be more careful."

"Yuki said we need to find a place to eat lunch where no one will find us," Ichigo said. "I think we should talk to the principal, but it might be best to find a deserted classroom. The roof is kind of a problem if someone comes up there besides us."

"You're right," Miwa said. "I guess we should talk to the principal and find a place of our own. Are you going to be back tomorrow?"

"Yuki said that Kisshu should stay home tomorrow, and that I should stay with him, so probably not," Ichigo said.

"I guess we'll see you Wednesday, then," Moe said. "Kisshu, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. Moe and Miwa smiled, then left.

**I know it's a bad ending, but there will be more…. Hopefully soon! Review plz!**


	19. Pai's Last Chance

**Namida Chapter 19:**

**Pai's Last Chance**

On Wednesday, Kisshu and Ichigo went back to school. Moe and Miwa met them at the gates, and they went in together. It was surprisingly quiet that day, no note passing, nothing. While that was nice, it also put the four friends on edge. Something felt off.

They went up to the roof to eat lunch, knowing the schoolyard would have a lot of girls. There, they began talking.

"Something's not right," Miwa said. "The girls are never this quiet. Nor are the boys, though they've been a bit better behaved since Hayao got expelled."

"While I appreciate the lack of staring, you're right," Kisshu said. "They never act like this, something's going on."

"Maybe they've got something planned," Moe suggested. "If the girls here were planning something, they might be trying to get us to let our guard down by making us think they've given up."

"If that's the case, they've done the exact opposite," Kisshu said. "We're all wary of what might happen."

They heard footsteps on the stairs, and tensed, getting up. Unsurprisingly, the person who came up the stairs was a girl, but this time she was alone. Ichigo sighed. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Some guy came to the school and asked if one of us could give this to Kisshu," the girl said timidly. "Then he went away."

Ichigo and Kisshu looked at each other warily. "What did he look like?" Ichigo asked.

"He was kind of tall, and had purple hair, but I don't think he goes to this school," the girl said.

"Give me the note," Kisshu said. The girl handed it over, and Kisshu opened it. His face formed into a snarl, and Ichigo looked at the girl, then mouthed, "Run."

The girl hightailed it out of there as Kisshu handed the note to Ichigo, and said, "Call Aunt Yuki. I'm going." Without another word, Kisshu teleported.

Ichigo immediately grabbed her cell phone and dialed Yuki's number. After three rings, she heard, _"Ichigo, why aren't you in school?"_

"I AM in school, and Kisshu just teleported off to find Pai," Ichigo said grimly. "One of the girls here was apparently asked to give him a note, and the guy she described sounded like Pai. Kisshu gave me the note, and told me to call you. Then he teleported. I need you to come get me; I need to help Kisshu."

Yuki sighed. _"I'm on my way," _she said. _"I'm teleporting directly to you, k?"_

"K, my friends won't mind," Ichigo said. "They know."

"_Okay," _Yuki said, and hung up.

About five minutes later, Yuki teleported onto the roof, and said, "I think Kisshu and Pai are in Inohara Park, but for some reason I can't get a direct lock on their location."

"We'll just have to find them, then," Ichigo said.

"Is it okay if we help?" Miwa asked.

Ichigo looked at Yuki, who just sighed and said, "Grab on."

The girls obeyed, and Yuki teleported them to Inohara Park. They heard shouting in the distance, and started running.

When they reached the sound, Kisshu had his swords out already. "Why can't you get it through your head that I hate you!?" Kisshu yelled at Pai. "Apologizing isn't going to help you anymore. You crossed the line several times already, and regardless of Aunt Yuki, this time, YOU'RE the one who will be going down!"

Yuki sighed and held out a hand, and like when Hayako had done it, a ripple in the air hit Kisshu and Pai. They froze in place, and Yuki went up to them, followed by the girls. "Why did you have to freeze me again!?" Kisshu shouted.

"I think you know the answer to that," Yuki said. She turned to Pai, and said coldly, "Pai, you've crossed the line one time too many. Kisshu's right, just saying sorry doesn't always make things better. Frankly, I knew it was a bad idea to allow you to come back, but I decided to try it out. Judging by your behavior, it's obviously not a good idea for you to be on Earth. While Lettuce may love you, it doesn't seem to be safe for anyone besides her, and maybe not even her. I refuse to let you back on Earth, so you now have two choices, Pai."

"What are they?" Pai asked.

"You can return to our planet for good, or…" Yuki trailed off, then said sadly, "You can let Ichigo kill you. I refuse to let Kisshu kill you, but Ichigo did warn you that if you ever came near them again, she would personally kill you. If you choose the latter, I won't be here. But you can choose to go back to our planet, and live your life there. You'll never be able to see Lettuce again, nor will she be able to see you, but that's true with either choice. Either way, I will inform her and her family of what you chose, and she will just have to live with the consequences of your actions. If you had obeyed my rules, this might have been avoided, but as it is, you have brought this on yourself and Lettuce. I really thought you knew better, Pai."

"Can I at least tell Lettuce goodbye?" Pai asked.

"No. It will only make her more miserable, and I don't think you want to see her crying, right?" Yuki asked.

Pai sighed, and Yuki said, "Make your choice."

Pai took a deep breath, and said, "I can't go back to our planet knowing that I'll never see Lettuce again. I'll let Ichigo kill me."

Yuki looked at Ichigo, and said, "Go ahead. I'm going home…"

Ichigo nodded, and Yuki teleported away as Ichigo got out her pendant. She transformed, and summoned her weapon. To her surprise, she felt a bit sad as she aimed a Strawberry Surprise with all her power at Pai. It hit him dead on, and like when she had used that attack on Ryou, Pai collapsed into ash. Then she let her weapon disappear and detransformed as Kisshu, Moe, and Miwa came over.

"Did that make you feel better?" Kisshu asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Ichigo said. "I guess I was thinking about how Lettuce is now going to hate me the way I hated Pai, and that made me feel kind of sad."

Kisshu sighed, but before he could say more, Ichigo collapsed. He caught her, and put a hand on her forehead. Then he sighed. "She doesn't have a fever, I think she just used up too much power," he said as Moe and Miwa came over. "Grab my shoulders, I'll teleport back home." He picked up Ichigo as Moe and Miwa grabbed his shoulders. Then he teleported to the living room of their house.

Sakura ran in a second later, and shrieked, "Where WERE you!? I got a call from the school saying the four of you had disappeared! And what happened to Ichigo!?"

"Ichigo should be fine when she wakes up," Kisshu said. "And the rest is kind of a long story, so can I put Ichigo to bed before going into detail?"

Sakura sighed. "Fine…" she said.

Kisshu teleported upstairs and tucked Ichigo in. Sakura came in with Moe and Miwa, and said, "Alright, talk."

"Pai apparently came to our school, and left a note for me," Kisshu said. "I teleported off to find him, and we were about to start fighting when Aunt Yuki, Ichigo, Miwa and Moe got there. Aunt Yuki froze me and Pai, and then told Pai that due to the fact that he wasn't following her rules, and constantly attacking me, she was going to give him two choices. He could either go back to Cyniclonia for good, and never see Lettuce again- or he could let Ichigo kill him. He chose the latter, and I think Ichigo used up too much power on her attack, and collapsed. I think she'll be fine when she wakes up, though."

"Is Yuki okay?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know; she teleported before Ichigo killed Pai, but I doubt she's really okay," Kisshu said.

"There's no pain worse than losing a child," Sakura said. "I'm surprised she let Ichigo do that."

Kisshu sighed. "Our way of life is different," he said softly. "We know that if someone is becoming a danger to others, something has to be done. If Pai had succeeded in killing Taruto, he would have gotten the death penalty on our planet. While any mother or father would never want their child to die, if their child is a danger to others, especially children, they know that there is no choice. Our laws surrounding killing or attacking others of our own race are extremely strict. Pai repeatedly attacking me would have severe consequences on our planet. I know humans attacking others in wars and stuff is pretty common, but our race is different. Because of the previous living conditions on our planet, we lived as one community, since we were all in pretty much the same situation. It was easier that way, everyone helping everyone else. I used to believe that Pai was like that; a person who could help others. But in the end, he couldn't follow our laws, and he became a danger to others. If he hadn't tried to kill me and Taruto, he might still be alive. But he seemed to be unable to control himself, and that's dangerous- despite the fact he's nowhere near as good a warrior as I am. Aunt Yuki wouldn't let me kill him, though."

Sakura sighed. "Maybe I'll go comfort her," she said. "Can you stay with Ichigo?"

"Of course," Kisshu said. He turned to Moe and Miwa. "Do you want to stay, or go home?" he asked.

"I guess we'd better get home," Miwa said reluctantly. "We'll most likely get grounded again, but at least we didn't have to stay at school and worry about you two."

Kisshu smiled slightly, and sat down next to Ichigo as Sakura, Moe and Miwa left. Kisshu started stroking Ichigo's hair when they were gone, and she started purring softly.

**Okay, originally this was going to be Chapter 24 of Kitten Love, but for some reason, I can't stop thinking about Namida. I'll try again maybe tomorrow, k? Review, and please don't flame me for killing Pai. Although I'm sure M3W ANJU will be happy….**


	20. Aftermath

**Namida Chapter 20:**

**Aftermath**

About four hours later, Kisshu was still sitting next to Ichigo, who was still unconscious. He had stopped stroking her hair a while ago, but she didn't wake up.

Another half an hour passed before Ichigo stirred, and Kisshu asked softly, "Koneko-chan?"

Ichigo opened her eyes, and sat up. "Hi Kisshu," she said.

"Are you feeling better?" Kisshu asked.

"I feel fine, I think I just needed to rest after using that much power," Ichigo said. "I guess I overdid it."

"Well, you're okay, and Pai's gone for good, so I'm happy, at least," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled. "I like making you happy," she said.

Kisshu smiled. "I'm hungry, can we go see what there is to eat?" he asked.

"You're always hungry, but sure," Ichigo said. "Is Mom around?"

"She said something about going to comfort Aunt Yuki," Kisshu said. "I don't know if she's back yet."

"Do you think Yuki and Hayako are going to hate me?" Ichigo asked. "I'm pretty sure Lettuce will."

"Since killing Pai was an option Yuki came up with, I'd say they won't," Kisshu said. "If we lived on my planet, Pai would have been given the death penalty by now anyways."

Suddenly teleportation sounded in the room, and Hayako appeared with Sakura and Yuki. "Ichigo, are you okay?" Yuki asked. "Sakura said you collapsed."

"I'm fine, I just used up too much power," Ichigo said. "Do you hate me?"

"No, we don't," Hayako said. "We actually came to thank you. On our planet, Pai would have to go through an extremely embarrassing court trial and then get killed. It's really better this way, for him and for all of us. On top of that, on our planet, he'd also be bringing shame on our family. We don't hate you at all, Ichigo. We realize that what you did is really for the best, and though we're sad, we're also happy that he didn't have to go through what the laws on our planet require in this case. And we won't have to go through our friends avoiding us for such an offense. It's up to the parents to raise their children properly, and it's seen as failure if something like what Pai did happens. It's probably different on Earth, but that's what our culture is like."

"Thanks," Ichigo said softly. "I know I said I wouldn't care if you hated me for killing Pai, but I realized that I really would care, because you're becoming like my family."

Yuki and Hayako both smiled, then came over and hugged Ichigo together. Ichigo hugged back, smiling.

As they broke apart, Kisshu said, "I hate to ask, but what did you tell Lettuce?"

Hayako sighed, and said, "We told her the truth, but also explained that if he had been killed on our planet, it would be far worse. She still broke down, and she was still crying when we left. It's up to her family to get her through this now."

"I just hope she doesn't decide to get revenge," Ichigo said.

"She doesn't seem like that kind of person," Yuki said. "I'd be more worried about another suicide attempt. Why are you worried about revenge?"

"My overprotective school friends already told me that they'd beat Pai up regardless of whether or not he had a weapon; I shudder to think what would happen if they found out Lettuce attacked me," Ichigo said. "I don't want them to go to jail- or get hurt."

"The latter seems a bit unlikely, but you're right," Kisshu said.

"Why is it unlikely they'd get hurt attacking Lettuce?" Hayako asked.

"You've never seen them in action," Kisshu said dryly. "They grab the person, throw them on the ground, and start beating them to a pulp in two seconds flat. On top of that, they fight as a team. Unless Lettuce had some crazy attack up her sleeve, she wouldn't stand a chance. Makes me glad I never hurt Ichigo."

"I have the best friends ever," Ichigo said happily. "They make sure no one hurts me, and that way, Kisshu doesn't get tempted to take out his swords!"

"Moe said it's against school rules to throw people off the roof," Kisshu grumbled.

"Kisshu, that was the case back home, too," Yuki said. "It's just not okay to throw people off roofs, no matter how annoying or mean they are."

Kisshu sighed. "It was only three stories…." he said sulkily.

"She'd die," Sakura said. "I don't think you want to go to jail for killing someone."

"Oh, fine," Kisshu said, still sulking. "Humans must be pretty flimsy…."

"Kisshu, that's not very nice," Hayako said sternly. "You do know that Sakura is human, right?"

"Yeah, but she's not flimsy," Kisshu said. "The girls at Ichigo's school are flimsy."

"And stupid," Ichigo said.

"And annoying," Kisshu added.

"Okay, I think that's enough complaining," Sakura said. "I think your time would be better spent trying to find some excuse for you disappearance today."

Kisshu and Ichigo gulped. "This isn't going to be easy…" Ichigo said.

"Why not tell them we were getting harassed and we decided to sneak out before we killed somebody?" Kisshu suggested.

"That would probably work," Sakura said. "You four get harassed so much it's easy to see why you might want to get away."

"Let's do that," Ichigo said. "I hope Nori gets expelled soon, though. She's a real problem."

"I think she's the main problem," Kisshu said. "Let's talk to the principal about her; I'm sure he's going to want to know what happened today."

"Good luck," Yuki said. "Hayako and I are going back."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Bye."

"Bye," Yuki said, and teleported out with Hayako.

Sakura sighed, and said, "I'm going to go make dinner, you two have fun."

"We will," Ichigo said. "Let us know when it's ready."

"K," Sakura said, and left, closing the door.

_**The next day: **_Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa were called to the office first thing, and went to speak with the principal.

"So what happened yesterday?" the principal asked. "You seem to have vanished into thin air."

"We snuck out because we were being harassed and couldn't take it anymore," Kisshu said. "Sorry we didn't tell you first."

The principal sighed. "This is getting bad, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," Ichigo replied.

"Any suggestions?" the principal sighed.

"We think the main problem is Nori," Miwa said. "All the other girls just go along with her. Why, I don't know. But she's the main problem. If she hadn't told Hayao that Kisshu's allergic to bananas, the incident the other day would have been avoided. I don't think any other girl in this school would be evil enough to tell one of the guys that if Kisshu eats bananas, he'll get really sick. They're all obsessed with Kisshu, so they're more likely to go after us than him. And none of us have such a severe food allergy."

"That reminds me," the principal said. "I think I found a place other than the roof where you can eat undisturbed."

"Where?" Kisshu asked.

"It's a small classroom that is currently not being used by teachers," the principal said. "Actually, it's being used for storage, but I think if we clean it out, you guys can have your own lunch room. Does that sound okay?"

"Anything that will get us away from the idiots sounds fine," Ichigo said.

"Alright, I'll have the janitors clean it out," the principal said. "I think today you need to eat somewhere else, but by tomorrow, it should be ready."

"Can we just stay and eat in the classroom after class?" Miwa asked.

"Sure, just don't make a mess," the principal said. "Now, back to the Nori problem. I'm still not letting you stuff a death threat in her locker, but I see that beating her up isn't working. And I've tried calling her parents, who apparently lectured her, but didn't get anywhere, obviously. And I don't think suspending her is going to work." He sighed. "I might as well expel her," he said. "She's obviously a danger to you four, and possibly to others as well. I will call her parents, and explain that they need to find another school for her. She obviously can't behave herself here, despite several beatings and weeks in detention. I will take care of that, so you four should get to your second period class. I will also explain to your first period teacher why you missed her class, so she can give you the homework. I'll take care of everything, so go ahead to class."

The four friends bowed, and literally skipped out of the office and to their next class. They got through class without too much hassle, and were still in good moods through the next class, especially when the loudspeakers came on and said, _"Konizuka Nori, please come to the office."_

Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe, and Miwa all smirked as they got back to work. Next period was recess, so they stayed in the classroom to eat.

By the end of the day, everyone at the school had noticed that the four friends were basically skipping around. And the entire school was talking. Not to mention there was a 'rumor' going around that Nori had been expelled. Since everyone at school knew Nori was evil, a lot of people were somewhat hopeful that the rumor was true.

Finally, one guy decided to ask if the rumor was true, and seeing as Moe, Miwa, Kisshu and Ichigo were the ones who might know, he went to them.

The four were walking down the hall when the guy came up to them, and asked, "Is the reason you're all so happy that Nori is gone for good?"

"Yep!" Miwa said happily. "We'll never hear from the Devil's apprentice again!"

"YES!" the guy shouted, causing a lot of people to look at them curiously. The guy noticed, and shouted, "Nori's gone, minna!"

Everyone in hearing range shouted, "YAHOO!" and started celebrating. Kids and teachers alike started looking out into the hall, as everyone started chanting, "She's gone, she's gone, she's gone!"

One teacher came up to Ichigo and asked, "Who are they talking about?"

"Nori! Nori got expelled!" Ichigo said happily.

The teacher's class heard this, and started chanting too. Soon enough, word had spread through the whole school that Nori was gone for good, and all the teachers' attempts to calm down the students' celebrating did absolutely no good. Then the end of the day bell rang, and everyone ran outside, still chanting. The schoolyard was full of students dancing and chanting.

Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa were about to leave when the principal came up to them and said wearily, "You told the school, right?"

"No, we told one guy, and he started shouting, "Nori's gone!" And that's what led to this," Miwa said. "And the school day is over anyways. See how happy they are? You did a good thing!"

"Great…." the principal said unenthusiastically. "I hope they can get over this by tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow's Saturday, sir," Ichigo said, giggling. "Can we go home?"

"Yup," the principal said. "I hope they've calmed down by Monday…"

Kisshu looked at the school yard, and said, "I wouldn't count on it, sir. Good luck calming them down!"

The principal groaned as the four friends ran out the gates, headed home.

**I loved this, so I hope you do too! Please Review!**


	21. Too Much Celebrating

**Namida Chapter 21:**

**Too Much Celebrating**

When the four friends came back to school on Monday, the school looked very different. Banners proclaiming the news about Nori were everywhere, saying things like, 'She's Gone!' or 'We'll never hear from the Devil's apprentice again!' or 'The school is free from evil!'

There were red and black streamers decorating the walls and ceilings, and Nori's locker had been painted black with demon faces on it. Confetti littered the halls, and there was even graffiti on some of the walls. On top of that, someone had somehow gotten ahold of Moe and Miwa's death threat, and posted copies of it around the school.

The principal was waiting at the doors to the school, and when he saw the four friends, he said, "We need to talk."

"About what? Everyone's happy now," Moe said cheerfully.

"That's the problem, they're TOO happy," the principal said. "Just look at this place!"

"Nice redecoration," Kisshu said. "Who's your designer?"

The girls burst out laughing as the principal groaned, "WHY? Why me?"

"Why you? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, still giggling. "You purged the evil from your school. What's wrong with that?"

"The students got in over the weekend and redecorated the entire school!" the principal moaned.

"It was boring anyways," Kisshu said. "Have you seen Nori's old locker? Someone has talent."

"And they stole the death threat!" the principal moaned, not paying attention.

"That was pretty brilliant," Miwa said. "I like the streamers."

"Did you notice they said, 'Nori should burn in hell'?" the principal asked.

"No, but it's true," Ichigo said. "So how long did it take you to calm them down on Friday?"

"They DIDN'T calm down!" the principal moaned. "After six, I ended up calling the police, because they were still celebrating. And now the police are unhappy with me, because I expelled one girl, and the school went nuts!"

"She was the Devil's apprentice," Moe said, shrugging. "Something had to be done. It's not your fault things got out of control."

The principal just sighed. Then his phone rang, and he said, "Moshi moshi?"

The girls and Kisshu watched as the principal sighed. "On my way," he said, and hung up. Then he turned to Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa, and said, "There's another celebration going on. You four stay here, since I have a feeling you're now going to be considered heroes for getting rid of Nori."

"Oh, fine," Miwa said, and watched as the principal ran off. As soon as he was gone, Miwa smirked and said, "Let's go see!"

"Okay!" the others said, and followed the principal at a distance, making sure he didn't see them.

They reached the gym, and sure enough, there was a celebration going on. And the teachers were having no luck calming the students down. The principal ran in, and shouted, "That's ENOUGH! You've been celebrating since Friday, it's time to tone it down!"

"Why!?" someone shouted. "The Devil's apprentice is gone for good!"

Someone else shouted, "We'll never get bullied again! Nori's gone!"

Another person noticed Ichigo, Moe, Miwa and Kisshu and shouted, "They're here!"

Within seconds, the four friends got swarmed by a lot of happy students. Ichigo, Moe and Miwa sort of handled getting swarmed, but unfortunately, Kisshu couldn't take it. Making sure no one was looking too closely, Kisshu teleported out of there as the teachers and the principal started trying to restore order.

As the students slowly started to calm down (after quite a few suspensions) Miwa, Moe and Ichigo got up and looked around. The principal came over and said, "I did warn you. What happened to Kisshu?"

"He's not comfortable with crowds, I have a feeling he made a run for it," Ichigo said. "He might be on the roof, but if he's not, I'd guess the sakura tree in Inohara Park. I'll call my mom if he's not on the roof."

"Can I trust you three to handle this?" the principal asked. "They started celebrating again."

"We'll be fine," Ichigo said. She nodded to Moe and Miwa, and they ran to the roof as the principal went back to the gym. Unfortunately, Kisshu wasn't there. Ichigo sighed and said, "He's most likely in Inohara Park. I'll call Yuki; I need you two to cover for me."

"Got it," Miwa said, as Ichigo took out her cell phone and dialed Yuki's number. As soon as she picked up, Ichigo said, "Yuki, I need you to find Kisshu, and take me to him. We got swarmed at school, and I have a feeling he teleported somewhere."

"_Hang on," _Yuki said.

Ichigo waited a minute, then heard, _"He's in a small clearing. Should I come get you?"_

"If you can, and Miwa and Moe are going to cover for me," Ichigo said.

"_I'll be right there," _Yuki said, and hung up. A minute later she teleported in, and took Ichigo's hand, then teleported to the clearing.

Kisshu was lying on the ground, seemingly asleep. Yuki carefully went over and put a hand on his chest, then came back to Ichigo. "He's a bit worn out," she said softly. "Stay with him, and ask him to teleport you back home when he wakes up. It's not a good idea for you to go back to school."

"Okay," Ichigo said softly, and quietly sat down next to Kisshu, then started stroking his hair gently as Yuki teleported away.

Three hours later, Ichigo had stopped stroking Kisshu's hair, and was waiting for him to wake up. She was worried, since he hadn't even stirred.

Another hour passed, and the sun was starting to set by the time Kisshu stirred. Ichigo waited a minute, then asked softly, "Kisshu?"

"Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm here," Ichigo said softly. "Are you okay? You've been sleeping for about four hours."

"I think I'm okay, but I really didn't like getting swarmed," Kisshu said. "I don't think anyone saw me teleport, though."

"Good," Ichigo said. "Do you want to go home? School's been over for about two hours."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "It's kind of dark anyways." He took her hand and teleported to the living room, where they found Yuki and Hayako trying to calm down Sakura. Shintaro apparently wasn't home yet.

Yuki sighed when she saw them. "Are you two okay?" she asked.

"We're fine, but Kisshu just woke up," Ichigo said. "Sorry if we worried you."

"We've had quite the time keeping Sakura from freaking out," Hayako said. "Miwa and Moe came here after school with your things and said that they had come up with an excuse for the principal. Unfortunately, the four of you are now suspended until the principal can get the others under control. Sakura managed to convince Moe and Miwa's parents not to ground them, though."

"That's good, thanks Mom," Ichigo said.

Sakura came over and hugged her and Kisshu together. "You're really okay?" she asked.

"We're fine," Kisshu said. "I'm hungry, though."

"What else is new?" Sakura asked, giggling a bit. "You're always hungry!"

Kisshu smirked. "So what's for dinner?" he asked.

"I'm doing breakfast for dinner, so we're having pancakes, and eggs, and bacon," Sakura said. "And fruit. Mainly strawberries, but I made apple crisp, so we can have some of that too."

"Yay!" Kisshu said. "Can we have chocolate chip pancakes?"

Sakura smiled. "Sure," she said. "I'll get that started, k?"

"K!" Kisshu said happily.

Sakura went to the kitchen as Yuki said, "We have to get back, but we'll see you around."

"K, thanks Aunt Yuki," Kisshu said.

Yuki smiled and teleported out with Hayako.

**I KNOW it's short. I need ideas for what should happen with Lettuce, so please PM me or review with ideas!**


	22. Lettuce's Phone Call

**Namida Chapter 22:**

**Lettuce's Phone Call**

For the next few days, Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe and Miwa spent a lot of time in Inohara Park. The principal still hadn't called them back, so they assumed the celebrating was still going on.

One day they were sitting under the sakura tree, when Ichigo's cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, and said, "That's odd; it's Lettuce."

"Be careful," Kisshu said as Ichigo picked up, turning on speakerphone on the way.

"Moshi moshi?" Ichigo asked when she picked up.

"_Ichigo-san, it's Lettuce," _Lettuce said. _"I need some advice."_

"What about?" Ichigo asked.

"_I think someone is stalking me," _Lettuce said. _"And since you used to have a stalker, I figured I'd ask you for help."_

"Can you tell me any more about this?" Ichigo asked. "I can't imagine why someone would stalk you."

"_I'm worried someone found out my other identity somehow," _Lettuce said. _"I've seen the person briefly, before he vanished. I'm pretty sure it's a guy, and he's kind of tall. But whenever I try to get a closer look, it's like he vanishes into thin air."_

"That doesn't sound like a human," Ichigo said. "Is it possible that there's another Cyinclon on Earth?"

"_Keiichiro didn't mention anything lately," _Lettuce said.

"Good point," Ichigo said. "Did you talk to him about this yet?"

"_No, do you think I should?" _Lettuce asked.

"It might be a good idea," Ichigo said. "He's got the equipment to find out who or what may be stalking you."

"_I'll give him a call," _Lettuce said. _"There's one more thing, though."_

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

Lettuce sighed and said, _"I wanted to apologize. Yuki explained that if you hadn't done what you did, Pai would have gone through a lot more pain. I should have called sooner, to tell you that I don't hate you. I was just so broken up that until this stalker thing came up, I didn't have the heart to call you. I'm sorry."_

"I don't mind," Ichigo said. "I know you were having a hard time even before I killed Pai, and I probably should have been more understanding. I was too hung up on the fact that Pai had tried to kill Kisshu numerous times to remember that you were having a hard time too. I'm never going to like Pai, but you're my friend, and I should have been a better friend, especially since I'm the one who killed your boyfriend."

"_Thanks, Ichigo-san," _Lettuce said. _"I realized after a while that the whole thing wasn't working out, especially since Pai became obsessed with getting Kisshu-san to forgive him. I can't really blame you for what you did, especially after Yuki explained what the consequences for his actions would have been on their planet. Your way was better, and it saved everyone a lot of grief in the long run."_

"Thanks, Lettuce," Ichigo said softly. "I'm glad you don't hate me."

"_You're welcome," _Lettuce said. _"But back to the stalker thing- why did Kisshu-san stalk you?"_

"As far as I can tell, he wanted me to fall in love with him, so he followed me everywhere," Ichigo said. "And he learned a lot about me doing that. He also mentioned that Pai was stalking you."

"_Pai was stalking me?" _Lettuce asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "I can't believe he complained about Kisshu so much."

Lettuce giggled slightly, and said, _"That's kind of funny."_

"Yep," Ichigo said. "You should tell Keiichiro that you think something is stalking you, and you don't think it's human."

"_I will, and thanks again," _Lettuce said. _"Ja ne, Ichigo-san."_

"Ja ne, Lettuce," Ichigo said, and hung up. Then she looked at her friends.

"I wonder who would be stalking Lettuce," Kisshu said. "I'm glad she doesn't hate you, though."

"Me too," Ichigo said. "But if the person stalking her isn't human, what is he?"

"I don't know," Kisshu said. "There's no reason for a Cyniclon to be here; our planet is better than Earth, and even if it was someone looking for revenge on Deep Blue, they'd be coming after you, Ichigo."

"Not necessarily," Ichigo said. "Lettuce and I combined our attacks to kill Aoyama. If it is a Cyniclon looking for revenge, he might be going after Lettuce because she's not as strong as I am. She's not weak, but if she's freaked out, it's going to be easier to take her down."

"That doesn't sound good," Kisshu said. "I hope Keiichiro can figure this out."

"Me too," Ichigo said.

Moe and Miwa had been listening too, and Miwa asked, "Kisshu, can you sense if there are any other Cyniclons here in Tokyo besides Yuki, Hayako, Taruto and you?"

"That's an idea," Kisshu said. "Stay quiet for a while." As the girls nodded, Kisshu closed his eyes, and concentrated. About five minutes later, Kisshu's eyes snapped open, and he looked scared.

"Kisshu, what did you see?" Ichigo asked, worried.

Kisshu didn't seem to hear her, as he whispered, "No… it's not possible…" Then he collapsed, Ichigo just managing to catch him before he hit the ground.

Ichigo turned to Moe and Miwa. "I'm calling Yuki, you try to wake him up," she said.

"Got it," Moe said, as Ichigo took out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts, hitting Send when she reached Yuki's number.

After two rings, Yuki said, _"Ichigo, is something wrong?"_

"Yes, Kisshu just collapsed and we don't exactly know why," Ichigo said. "Can you come?"

"_I'll be right there," _Yuki said, and hung up.

A minute later she teleported in, and said, "What happened?"

"Lettuce called and said she's being stalked, and she doesn't think her stalker is human," Ichigo said. "Miwa suggested that Kisshu try to sense if there were any other Cyniclons besides the four of you in Tokyo, and he tried. Then he opened his eyes, and said, "No… it's not possible…" And then he collapsed, and he's not waking up."

Yuki came over and put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, then closed her eyes. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, and she tapped Kisshu's forehead before sitting down, hard. The girls were worried by this, and Ichigo asked, "Yuki, what did you see?"

Before Yuki could respond, Kisshu's eyes snapped open, and he sat bolt upright. "Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"I saw it again…" Kisshu said.

"Saw what?" Ichigo asked.

"I've been having flashbacks on the battle where Pai tried to kill me and Taruto," Kisshu said softly. "I don't know why."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ichigo asked.

"I guess," Kisshu said, looking off into the distance.

_**Kisshu's flashback: **__"You two are fools!" Pai shouted, taking out his fans. _

_Kisshu and Taruto took out their weapons as well, as Kisshu snarled, "We are not fools. There's another way to solve this, and you know it. The battle isn't going anywhere anyways!"_

"_Kisshu's right, Pai," Taruto said. "If we form a truce with the Mews, we can save our home!"_

"_Earth is our rightful place," Pai said emotionlessly. _

"_Earth is far too polluted for our race to live here," Kisshu said. "We both know that, Pai. I honestly don't know why you're so obsessed with helping Deep Blue."_

"_He is our leader, we have to obey him," Pai said._

"_NO, Kaio-sama is our leader," Taruto said angrily. "Deep Blue is a ball of light that brainwashed everyone into thinking it would save us. Kisshu and I have already figured out that he doesn't intend to help us; why can't you?"_

"_I will not disobey Deep Blue because of your silly notions!" Pai shouted._

"_They're not silly!" Taruto shouted._

"_I thought you were a genius, Pai!" Kisshu shouted. "How is it that you can't see Deep Blue's motives, while we can? He's just using us. He'll probably kill us after we help him awaken. I'm not giving him that chance. I refuse to let him destroy the Earth, and both races, human and Cyniclon. Become a mindless drone if you want- but Taruto and I will NEVER help Deep Blue again."_

_Pai's face darkened, and he pointed his fan at them. "FUU RAI SENN!" he shouted._

_Kisshu easily dodged it, but the lightning knocked Taruto's weapon away, and Pai attacked him again, this time knocking him out. "FUU HYOU-" Pai didn't get to finish; Kisshu snapped his fingers, concentrating, and Taruto disappeared._

_Pai turned to Kisshu, a look of pure rage on his face. Kisshu remained calm, and said, "I won't let you kill him." Then he flew at Pai, Dragon Swords ready. Pai teleported behind him, and as Kisshu started to turn, slammed the handle of his fan into the back of Kisshu's head. The last thing Kisshu heard was the sound of teleportation. Then everything went black._

_**Back to real time: **_Kisshu sighed. "That's all I remember before waking up in Ichigo's room four days later," he said.

"Wow…" Ichigo said. "Now I see why you're so glad Pai's gone."

To her surprise, Kisshu and Yuki both started looking grim. Then Yuki said, "That's what we need to tell you. Kisshu and I both saw the person stalking Lettuce. It's Pai. Or someone who looks exactly like him. But Pai doesn't have a twin brother; he's only got Taruto and Kisshu."

Ichigo, Moe and Miwa's jaws dropped. "But- I killed him!" Ichigo said. "I hit him with my attack, and he turned into ash."

"I know," Yuki said. "And I don't understand it either."

**My new idea is attributed to Soccer-Geek, who is always helpful. I decided to go along with her suggestion of having Pai come back, since a few others wanted him back as well. As for more of this idea- well, review and see what comes next!**


	23. Twins

**Namida Chapter 23:**

**Twins**

Yuki sighed. "I can't understand how Pai could have survived," she said.

"I hate to say this, but isn't it kind of hard to see through your attack, Ichigo?" Miwa asked. "What if he teleported at the last minute?"

"But what about that pile of ash?" Kisshu asked.

"That could have just been something Pai left behind, to make it look like he died," Miwa said.

"But if Pai did survive, why is he stalking Lettuce?" Yuki asked. "It seems to be freaking her out, and he didn't seem into scaring people. Attacking them, yes. Following them around to freak them out? Not so much."

"I don't know," Ichigo said. "You're right, that doesn't seem like something Pai would do."

"Unless…" Miwa started, then trailed off uncertainly.

"What's up?" Kisshu asked.

"This may sound weird, but what if that attack did something to Pai's mind rather than his body?" Miwa said.

"You mean changed his personality?" Kisshu asked.

"I was thinking amnesia, actually," Miwa said.

Moe seemed to get it, because she then said, "So you think something's attracting him to Lettuce, even though he doesn't remember her?"

"Exactly," Miwa said. "Either that, or he's turned into some kind of psychopath. But if his personality changed, I think he'd be going after Kisshu, not Lettuce."

"Because he hates me?" Kisshu asked.

Surprisingly, Moe answered, saying, "No, because if his personality changed, he'd be trying to kill you. Lettuce said he became obsessed with getting you to forgive him, remember?"

"And the opposite of that would be obsessed with killing you," Miwa said.

"And if his personality changed to the opposite of before, he would be after you, not Lettuce," Moe added.

"So something must be attracting him to Lettuce," Miwa said.

"And the only reason he'd be acting so out of character is that he doesn't remember how he used to act," Moe continued.

"Therefore, since he's being attracted to Lettuce, he's stalking her because he thinks she doesn't know him, and will avoid him if he approaches her," Miwa finished.

Ichigo, Yuki and Kisshu were getting a bit confused. "That makes sense, but one thing puzzles me," Yuki said. "How do you two know what the other is thinking? You're basically finishing each other's sentences."

"We've always been like that, we've just gotten better as the years went on," Miwa said, shrugging. "We've know each other since a year before we met Ichigo, when we were both two. Our parents wanted to get us together for some reason, but we don't exactly know why. It worked out well for us and Ichigo, though."

"You two wouldn't happen to have the same birthday, would you?" Yuki asked.

"No, but Miwa's only a day younger than I am," Moe said. "We always had joint birthday parties, so our families could just throw one party as opposed to two. Why?"

"I've heard that some twins have the ability to finish each other's sentences," Yuki said. "And you two are so close it's like you're one person. Even when you fight, you do it like you're one person."

"You think we're twins?" Miwa asked. "But we don't look alike."

"Except for your eyes," Ichigo commented. "And even two girls can be fraternal twins. Fraternal doesn't necessarily mean a boy and a girl."

"Let's go talk with my parents," Miwa said. "Kisshu, do you want to come?"

"Sure, but I have to get another one of those pills, the ten hours are going to be up soon," Kisshu said. "I'll be right back, can you wait for me?"

"Sure," Moe said.

Kisshu teleported off, and Yuki said, "I have to go home, good luck with this."

"Thanks," Miwa said.

Yuki smiled and teleported off. Ten minutes later, Kisshu teleported back, and said, "You two are going to have to lead the way, I can't teleport you there."

"Yeah, my mom would freak," Miwa said. "Let's go."

The four friends walked to Miwa's house, which was about two blocks away from the park. When they reached the door, Miwa opened it, and called, "I'm home!"

"Come on in, we're in the living room," a woman's voice called.

Miwa nodded to the others, and they followed her to the living room after taking their shoes off.

When they walked in, a woman who looked similar to Miwa and a man with black hair and blue eyes looked up. "Oh, you brought your friends home?" the man asked.

"Yes, and we've got a question," Miwa said.

"Sure, what's up?" Miwa's mother asked.

"Are Moe and I twins?" Miwa asked.

Her mother's face went dead white. Miwa raised an eyebrow and said, "Am I on to something?"

Her father sighed. "It's a bit of a long story, so you might want to sit down," he said.

The four obeyed, and Miwa's father sighed. "You're right," he said softly. "Moe is your twin sister. You were separated at birth, but we wanted you two to become friends, because Moe was given to your mother's best friend."

"Why?" Miwa whispered.

"Your mom was only eighteen when she had you two, and wasn't ready to take care of two children," Miwa's dad said. "Her best friend was twenty-two, and when she heard of your mom's difficulty, she said she would take one of you in. She had just lost her first child, and was more than willing to take in one of you. On top of that, when your mom's boyfriend learned what had happened, he refused to take part in it, since he didn't want children, he just wanted fun. Much as I hate to say it, I'm not your real father. Your mom met me a little while after you two were born, and we really hit it off. Eventually I proposed to her, and she accepted. You both were at the wedding, although you don't remember."

"How come you never told us?" Moe asked.

"We wanted to wait until you were old enough to understand why we had given Moe to Yume," Miwa's dad said. "When you were three, I don't think you'd have understood us saying, "Moe, Yume's not your real mom. Haru is your real mom." We were actually going to tell you on your fourteenth birthday, which would be in about six months. How did you figure it out?"

"We didn't, Kisshu's adoptive mom noticed we kept finishing each other's sentences and acting like one person, and said we might want to ask if we were twins," Miwa said. "Otherwise, we would have been pretty shocked this year's birthday."

"Well, now you know," Miwa's dad said. "Both Yume and your mom made sure you'd have all your classes together, and once you became friends with Ichigo, we tried to make it so she'd be with you as well. Her parents did the same, since they knew you liked protecting her, and they had to be careful that she didn't get hurt or sick. We didn't exactly expect the lengths you two go to protect Ichigo, and now Kisshu, but oh well. By the way, how did you manage to get in the same class as Ichigo again? Your mom and I completely forgot, but you still ended up in the same class."

"I don't think you really want to know the details…" Miwa said.

"Out with it, what'd you two do?" Miwa and Moe's mom asked sternly.

Moe sighed in defeat and said, "We hacked into the school's computer system and rearranged the class lists so we'd be there for Ichigo. Their security system sucks."

Their mother facepalmed. Ichigo sighed and said, "Is that what you meant when you said it was safer to keep me in the dark?"

"Yup," Miwa said. "But it worked out well, because you two are continually getting attacked by the boys and harassed by the girls."

"Wow, you two are something else," Kisshu said.

"Do I even want to know how you got your hands on a computer?" Mr. Honjou asked.

"It wasn't hard, we snuck into your office at midnight and used yours," Moe said innocently. "Miwa, you're lucky your dad let you know his password."

"Yep, and the school's security system was so easy to bypass after all those books we read on hacking," Miwa said. "Mom, thanks so much for getting me a library card!"

"I'm beginning to regret it…" Mrs. Honjou moaned.

"Aw, come on, it's already part way through the school year and they haven't noticed a thing," Moe said.

Mr. Honjou sighed and said, "Is grounding you two pointless?"

"Yes, and please don't, because we'll get bored without Ichigo and Kisshu," Miwa said. "You remember what happened the last time we got bored together, right?"

"What happened?" Kisshu asked.

"We booby-trapped Dad's office," Miwa said. "You should have heard him scream when the bucket of ice water fell onto his head."

"We really don't need a repeat of that, so I guess you're not grounded," Mr. Honjou said. "But if the police show up asking about hackers, you WILL be grounded, got it?"

"Yes, Dad…" Miwa sighed.

Mrs. Honjou sighed and said, "I think we should get back to the twins thing, and that's really a family thing."

"Sorry," Ichigo said. "Kisshu and I should get home anyways. See you guys soon, k?"

"K," Moe and Miwa said together.

Ichigo bowed slightly to Mrs. and Mr. Honjou, and followed by Kisshu, left. After putting their shoes on, they walked home.

Sakura was waiting for them, and she asked, "Where were you two? It's almost dinnertime."

"Sorry, we were at Miwa's," Ichigo said. "Miwa and Moe are apparently fraternal twins."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" she asked.

"That's what Mr. Honjou says," Ichigo said. "I would have liked to hear more, but we got sidetracked when Mr. Honjou asked how Miwa and Moe ended up in my class again."

"Uh-oh, what'd they do this time?" Sakura asked.

"Used Mr. Honjou's computer to hack into the school's records and change the class lists," Ichigo said. "Aren't they wonderful?"

"Yes, as long as they don't get arrested," Sakura sighed.

"They're amazing," Kisshu said.

Sakura just sighed again and said, "Yuki came by earlier to tell me that Pai's back."

"Looks like it," Ichigo sighed. "I guess if he really does have amnesia, he might not be much of a problem."

"Let's hope," Kisshu said.

**I'll try to get more out tomorrow, k? Review plz!**


	24. The Truth

**Namida Chapter 24:**

**The Truth**

Ichigo, Kisshu, Taruto and the other Mews were called to come to Café Mew Mew the next day. When they got there, Keiichiro was waiting with Yuki and Hayako, and they all went to the basement.

Keiichiro sighed when they were all there, and said, "I called you all together to talk about our latest situation. As I'm sure you all know, Pai somehow survived Ichigo's attack, and is now stalking Lettuce for some reason. One possibility, suggested by Ichigo's two school friends, is that Pai has lost his memory, but is still attracted to Lettuce for some reason, and that's why he's following her around. I have come up with two other options, however. One is that he hasn't lost his memory, but is waiting for the right moment to come out. That seems a bit unlikely, but the other I like even less. There is the possibility that Pai is being controlled by some new enemy. Why this enemy is having him follow Lettuce and not Ichigo is beyond me, but it is a possibility."

"If that were the case, it's possible him stalking Lettuce is to catch us off guard if he attacks Ichigo or Kisshu," Zakuro said. "Or it's a distraction for the rest of us while whoever is controlling Pai attacks Ichigo and /or Kisshu."

"I guess we've got a few options to consider," Ichigo said. "I hope Moe and Miwa are right; a new enemy with the ability to control at least Cyniclons would be bad for all of us."

"We might as well let this play out," Hayako said. "Pai will have to come out at some point, so we'll all keep our guard up."

The others sighed, but Keiichiro said, "I guess you're right; there's not much we can do without knowing more."

Suddenly they heard a loud beep from one of the computers, and Keiichiro raced over, pressing a few keys. A window popped up, showing the outside of Café Mew Mew. What struck them was that Pai was walking up the path to the doors.

The Mews transformed, and followed by the Cyniclons, ran up the stairs. They reached the front door as they heard a knock. Looking at each other, Ichigo and Lettuce opened the door hesitantly. Pai was standing outside, and Ichigo asked, "Pai, what are you doing here?"

"Pai?" Pai asked. "That's a type of dessert. That's not a name."

Ichigo and Lettuce exchanged glances. Lettuce asked, "What is your name, then?"

"Shiro," Pai said. "Ikisatashi Shiro."

Yuki came up behind the girls and said, "That was my father's name. So you remember your last name, but not your first?"

"My first name is Shiro," Pai said, sounding confused.

"No, your first name is Pai," Yuki said. "That's what I named you."

"Are you my mother, then?" Pai asked.

"Yes," Yuki said. "Did you lose your memory?"

"Maybe?" Pai said.

Kisshu came up behind Ichigo and asked, "What are you doing here, Pai?"

Pai looked nervous, but replied, "I'm here because the one I have to protect is here."

The others looked at each other, puzzled. "Do you mean Lettuce?" Ichigo asked.

"The girl with green hair; I don't remember her name," Pai said.

"I'm Lettuce," Lettuce said. "Why have you been stalking me?"

Pai looked puzzled, and said, "I have to protect you."

"From what?" Lettuce asked.

"Rindoru," Pai said. "He's coming."

"Who is Rindoru?" Kisshu asked.

"Lettuce's enemy, and soon, all of yours," Pai said. "That's why I have to protect Lettuce. Rindoru wants her, and he'll do everything he can to get the rest of us out of the way."

"Why does Rindoru want me?" Lettuce asked.

"He loves you," Pai said, causing everyone's jaws to drop. "He's evil, but he loves you. I refuse to let him take you."

Keiichiro slowly came out of shock and said, "We'll all protect Lettuce."

"You'll need to work together to do it," Pai said. "Rindoru is very powerful."

"Do you want to go back to living with me?" Lettuce asked.

"It would be safer," Pai said.

Lettuce turned to Keiichiro and said, "Can you explain this one to my parents?"

"I'll drive you both home," Keiichiro said. He turned to the others and said, "You all might as well go home, there's nothing more we can do right now."

The others nodded, and Kisshu teleported Ichigo home.

Sakura and Shintaro were waiting, and Sakura immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Moe and Miwa were right, Pai has lost most of his memory," Kisshu said. "But apparently we've got a new enemy who's in love with Lettuce, and that's why Pai was following her around; to make sure nothing happened to her."

Sakura looked worried, and said, "Are you going to tell Moe and Miwa?"

"Probably a good idea; I don't like keeping things from them," Ichigo said. "Have you heard from the school at all?"

"We got a call earlier today," Shintaro said. "Since it's already Thursday, you four will be going back on Monday, rather than tomorrow. I guess it's calm enough there to go back."

"Sure took a while," Kisshu commented.

"I'll say," Sakura said.

Ichigo sighed and said, "I guess we'd better talk to Moe and Miwa. I hope they don't get too overprotective; I don't want them to get hurt."

"I think you worry too much," Kisshu said. "Those two are completely unstoppable. Still, it'll be better to make sure they're careful."

"Let's go call them," Ichigo said. Kisshu smiled and followed her to her room, watching as she took out her cell phone.

Ichigo went through her contacts, pressing Send when she reached Miwa's number. After three rings, she heard, _"Ichigo?"_

"Hi Miwa, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

"_Moe and I are doing some planning so we'll be prepared when we get back on Monday," _Miwa said. _"What's up with you?"_

"Bad news," Ichigo said. "Do you mind getting Moe and coming over?"

"_Sure, we'll be there soon, and we'll bring our plans," _Miwa said. _"See you soon!" _She hung up, and Ichigo did the same.

"They're coming over?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to them together," Ichigo said. "I'd better let Mom know." She got up and went downstairs, then went to the living room, hearing the TV on. She walked in, and her parents looked up. "Moe and Miwa will be here soon," she said. "What are you watching?"

"The news," Sakura said. "We thought we'd see if there had been any weird attacks lately, but not so far."

"That's good," Ichigo said. The doorbell rang, and she went to answer it. It was Moe and Miwa, and Ichigo let them in. "Hi guys," she said. "Kisshu's in my room, let's go talk there. My parents are watching the news."

"Okay," Miwa said. "We brought the plans for 'in case of harassment', so we can look them over after you tell us your bad news."

"Okay," Ichigo said, smiling as she led the way upstairs.

Kisshu looked up as the girls came in, and said, "Good, you're here."

"Yup," Moe said. "So what's the bad news?"

"Turns out Pai isn't a threat," Ichigo said. "He was following Lettuce around to protect her. Apparently we've got a new enemy on our hands, and he's dead set on getting Lettuce. And probably getting rid of the rest of us."

"Why does he want Lettuce?" Miwa asked.

"Apparently he's in love with her," Kisshu said. "Makes him sound a bit like me; I was head over heels for Ichigo from the beginning, but she didn't like me, so I tried everything I could think of to get her to fall for me. That included trying to get rid of the competition."

"In other words, you spent a lot of time trying to kill Aoyuck?" Miwa asked.

Ichigo giggled as Kisshu said, "Yep, and that didn't make Koneko-chan very happy- at least until she realized that I was the only one who accepted her for who she was, cute little cat features and all. Aoyuck apparently couldn't manage that. You two beat him up for that, right?"

"Yup," Miwa said proudly. "He screams like a girl."

Ichigo and Kisshu burst out laughing.

**I know it's short, but I wanted to set the stage for the new enemy- and get back to Sparks of Love! Review! 3 **


	25. Scars

**Namida Chapter 25:**

**Scars**

The next day, Ichigo and Kisshu were going back to school. They met Moe and Miwa at the gates, and went to the office, since the principal had asked them to come there first.

He was waiting for them, and they followed him to his office. Once inside, the principal sighed. "I managed to calm the students down, but they all think you four are heroes," he said. "The harassment might get worse from here on out, so I decided to offer you two options. You can continue going to school here, which may or may not work out, or you can have Mrs. Momomiya homeschool you. She has a degree in Early Education, and I asked her if she'd be willing to learn a bit more about teaching at the middle school to high school level. She agreed, but I asked her not to tell you four before I talked with you. The school board will be paying her for this, and you all would have a less stressful environment to learn in. I'm not saying you shouldn't learn here, but due to your past experiences, I thought I should offer you another option."

Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe, and Miwa looked at each other, then nodded. The girls looked at Kisshu, who nodded and said, "I think we'd prefer the homeschooling."

The principal nodded, and said, "Very well. I'll call Mrs. Momomiya, wait here." He picked up the phone and dialed the number, then waited. The four friends waited as he said, "Mrs. Momomiya? Yes, this is Principal Izika. The kids have decided on the homeschooling idea, so I'm sending them back home. I don't think they need to be harassed any further, which is probably what will happen if they stay. I'll send someone over to start helping you learn to teach them; for today until you're ready, they've got free time." He got a response, and replied, "Yes, I'll find someone, and they should be over this afternoon. I'm sending the kids home, so they should be there soon. Okay, thanks." He hung up and turned to the friends. "You're free to go," he said.

"Thank you sir," Ichigo said. She and her friends bowed, then left, headed home.

As they walked out the gates, Kisshu said, "That was a surprise."

"Yeah, but it's good," Ichigo said. "With another enemy on the rise, it might be better to have Mom as our teacher. She knows about us, and we can fight if this Rindoru guy attacks."

"And I can stop wearing these awful shoes!" Kisshu said happily.

Ichigo giggled. "Yep, you can," she said. "Hey, should we let Keiichiro know about this?"

"Let's talk to Sakura first," Kisshu said. "We're almost home."

They reached the house, and Ichigo opened the door. Sakura came out to meet them, and said, "Hi kids!"

"Hi Mom," Ichigo said.

"So you decided on the homeschooling, huh?" Sakura said. "It'll be nice to have students again, I think."

"Again?" Kisshu asked.

"I was a first grade teacher before Ichigo was born, but I quit after she was born," Sakura said. "I was too scared to leave her with a babysitter or take her anywhere near other kids when she was a baby, so I quit my job to be with her fulltime."

"That's because I was born too early, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, and if you had gotten sick as a baby, you might not have survived," Sakura said. "The doctors already thought it was a miracle you survived your first two weeks; we didn't want to push our luck."

"Wow…" Ichigo said.

"On a happier note, I never have to wear these awful things again!" Kisshu said, holding up his shoes.

Sakura giggled. "Well, I guess you can change out of your uniform too. I've got a question, though. Why did you ask me to buy shirts with collars? All your shirts have collars or are mock turtlenecks."

Kisshu sighed. "Let's go to Ichigo's room, I don't want to show you in the living room," he said, and headed upstairs. The others looked at each other and followed. Kisshu went into Ichigo's room, and as the others came in, took off his jacket, then took his shirt off. Then he turned to face them.

Sakura, Moe, and Miwa gasped; Ichigo looked down. The scar on Kisshu's chest made it obvious the wound that caused it had been pretty severe. "What _happened_?" Sakura whispered.

"I was fighting the Blue Knight, and I managed not to get stabbed through the heart, but this is what happened instead," Kisshu said. "And because I failed to kill him, Deep Blue kicked me out, and Pai went along with it. I nearly died last winter, since I was out in the cold with this injury, with no one to turn to for help. Pai and Taruto eventually took me back in, but due to the fact the injury didn't get treated after I got it, it didn't heal properly, and that's where this scar came from. I don't like people seeing it, so I wear shirts that hide it. I don't like seeing it either." He put his shirt back on.

Moe snapped out of shock before Sakura and Miwa, and looked at Ichigo. Ichigo had her face buried in her hands. "Ichigo? What's wrong?" Moe asked.

"I'm horrible…" Ichigo whispered as the others looked at her.

"Why are you horrible? Aoyama was the Blue Knight, right?" Miwa asked. "So Aoyama's the one who's horrible."

"I'm worse," Ichigo said. "I could have stopped him, had I decided to. I broke Kisshu's heart on a nearly daily basis. I don't deserve to be forgiven for all the pain I put him through. I'm a horrible person, and I really should have realized that sooner." Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran out.

Moe, Miwa, and Sakura looked at Kisshu, who sighed. "Stay here," he told them. "I want to do this alone." He held out a hand, and a ripple formed in the air. The ripple hit Sakura, Moe and Miwa, and they froze as Kisshu teleported to Ichigo.

To Kisshu's shock, he found Ichigo in the kitchen with a knife in her hand, about to slit her wrist. He immediately ran over, knocked the knife out of her hand, then pinned her to the floor. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily.

"Taking myself out of your life," Ichigo said softly. "You'd be better off with someone who didn't tear you up on a daily basis."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kisshu asked. "We're soulmates. If you die, I die too. I know you're upset, but I don't think that you really want to kill yourself. Especially now that you know I would die too. Is that what you want?"

Ichigo shook her head. "Then don't get depressed over the past," Kisshu said. "We're both at fault for your rejections. I shouldn't have called you a toy, but you love me now, right?"

"Yes," Ichigo whispered.

"Then I'm happy," Kisshu said. "That's all I wanted, was for you to love me. And now we're soulmates. I want you to remember that, and that considering all that's happened since you found me unconscious on your sidewalk, I can forgive you. You took care of me while I had a concussion, you protected me from both Blondie and Pai, and you told me you loved me, which made me happier than I've ever been in my life. I have no complaints, Koneko-chan. Except when you try to leave me. THEN I complain- and pin you down until you agree not to get depressed. So you're not going to get depressed, right?"

"No, but I AM going to tickle you for-" Ichigo didn't get to finish the sentence. Kisshu squeaked and teleported. "Jeez, I was only joking," she said, smiling. Then she went upstairs. To her surprise, she found Sakura, Miwa and Moe in her room still. "Why are you just standing there?" she asked.

"Kisshu froze us after saying he wanted to talk to you alone," Moe said grouchily. "Where is he, anyways?"

"Most likely under his bed; I said the word 'tickle'," Ichigo sighed. "He's scared to death of being tickled for some reason. I'll get him out so he can unfreeze you."

"Good," Moe said.

Ichigo went to Kisshu's room, then knelt and looked under the bed. Kisshu was down there, and he squeaked again. "I was joking, Kisshu," Ichigo sighed. "I'm not going to tickle you, I was just kidding around. Can you come unfreeze Mom, Moe and Miwa?"

"You promise not to tickle me?" Kisshu asked, sounding nervous.

"I promise," Ichigo said.

Kisshu came out from under the bed, and went to Ichigo's room, then looked at Sakura, Moe, and Miwa, and snapped his fingers. The paralysis snapped, and they shook themselves. "Seriously, did you have to?" Miwa asked irritably.

"I wanted to talk to Ichigo without interruption," Kisshu said. Then he smirked, and said, "And make sure I'm not getting rusty."

Moe and Miwa glared at him. Kisshu got nervous, and said, "What are you going to do to me?"

They didn't respond; instead, they leaped on him and started tickling him. This didn't last long; Ichigo noticed Kisshu seemed to be having trouble breathing, and said, "Guys, stop! Kisshu can't breathe!"

Miwa and Moe looked at Kisshu, who was gasping for air, and got off him- just as he blacked out. Ichigo grabbed her cell phone and dialed Yuki's number, then waited as it rang. Three rings later, she heard, _"Ichigo?"_

"Yuki, Moe and Miwa were tickling Kisshu, and he passed out," Ichigo said. "We're in my room, can you come?"

"_On my way," _Yuki said, and hung up. Two minutes later, she teleported in and knelt next to Kisshu, then put a hand on his chest. Her hand began to glow brightly, and Kisshu's breathing, which had been getting more and more labored, started to even out. Ten minutes later, Yuki took her hand away, and sighed. "He might need some rest, but he should be fine by tomorrow," she said. "I take it he neglected to mention that being tickled causes him to stop breathing?"

"He just said he was scared of being tickled," Ichigo said. "He didn't explain why."

"We don't know why, but being tickled makes Kisshu stop breathing," Yuki said. "I'd suggest not doing it."

"We won't," Miwa said. "Sorry."

"Save that for Kisshu when he wakes up," Yuki said. "You should put him to bed, and tell him when he wakes up that he needs to take it easy for a bit."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She picked up Kisshu and put him on the bed, then covered him up and sat down with him. Then she started stroking his hair. He made a happy noise and leaned into her hand.

"That's really cute," Miwa said softly, as Yuki teleported out.

Ichigo nodded, smiling as Kisshu sighed happily. Sakura left too as Miwa and Moe settled down to wait for Kisshu to wake up.

About three hours later, Kisshu started to stir a bit. Ichigo waited a minute, then said, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu opened his eyes, and looked a bit scared. "I don't like being tickled…." he said.

"Yuki told us it causes you to stop breathing," Ichigo said. "She also said you need to take it easy for a bit, k?"

"K," Kisshu said.

Ichigo got worried; Kisshu didn't usually agree to taking it easy without complaint. She put a hand on his forehead, but he didn't have a fever. Noticing his puzzled look, she said, "I was just making sure you don't have a fever."

"Why would I have a fever?" Kisshu asked.

"You don't usually agree to taking it easy that fast," Ichigo said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Kisshu said. "I'm just a little shaky. After earlier, I didn't want to make you worry by pushing myself. I'm sorry if I worried you anyways."

Ichigo smiled. "It's fine," she said. She looked over at Moe and Miwa, who came over. Kisshu squeaked again, and Ichigo started stroking his hair to calm him down as Miwa said, "Kisshu, we're sorry about tickling you, we didn't know it could hurt you."

"Please just don't do it again," Kisshu said.

"We won't," Moe said. "We should probably get going, but we'll be back soon, k?"

"K," Kisshu said.

"Bye," Ichigo said.

Moe and Miwa waved, and left.

**Before you review, I'd like to say that I know that Kisshu probably doesn't have the scar from his battle with the Blue Knight yet in the series, but I wanted to put something about it in a story, so- yeah. Hope you don't mind, and that you like this chapter! Review!**


	26. The Meeting

**Namida Chapter 26:**

**The Meeting**

By the next day, Kisshu was feeling better, which was good timing, since trouble was about to hit. At around 1 in the afternoon, Ichigo's cell phone rang. It was Keiichiro, and she said, "Hi Keiichiro, what's up?"

"_We're having a meeting, we need you and Kisshu here," _Keiichiro said.

"On our way," Ichigo said, and hung up. Then she turned to Kisshu, and said, "There's a meeting, can you teleport me to Café Mew Mew?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. He and Ichigo grabbed their shoes, and Kisshu teleported to the basement of the Café.

Everyone, including Pai, was there, and Keiichiro looked up as Kisshu and Ichigo appeared. "Good, you're here," he said. "Pai has information on Rindoru, and I wanted everyone to hear it. Pai, would you care to explain?"

Pai nodded and said, "Rindoru is a Cyniclon who was exiled to a planet close to Cyniclonia many years ago. He came to Earth during the time when our two groups were still fighting, though I'm not quite sure why he never revealed himself. For some reason, however, he decided that out of all the Mews, Lettuce was the only one who was fit to be his bride. He's very arrogant, and used to getting his own way, since before he was exiled, he was the leader of the Cyniclons. I'm not sure why he chose Lettuce over anyone else, but I refuse to let him have her. He was exiled for attempting to murder his successor, Kaio-sama. He's completely evil, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He will most likely try to get the rest of us out of the way, in order to make sure Lettuce has no protection from him. We need to work together to defeat him."

"We can work together, but one thing puzzles me," Hayako said. "How do you know all this, Pai? I've never heard of Rindoru, and I thought Kaio-sama had been our leader since I was young."

Pai looked nervous, and Kisshu noticed. "You're hiding something," he said. "Tell us what you're hiding."

Pai sighed. "Rindoru wanted me to work for him," he said. "He thought saving me from Ichigo's attack would convince me to help him. He didn't know that I love Lettuce. And I didn't tell him. I just told him I wouldn't work for him. He's not very smart; he didn't notice that I was in love with Lettuce, and he didn't try to keep me in his hideout. And the tracking chip he put on my neck was easy to get off and deactivate. He's powerful, and would be hard to defeat in a fight, but he's not very bright. We can use that to our advantage."

Kisshu's eyes narrowed, and he said, "You don't actually have amnesia, do you?"

"No, I was faking it," Pai said. "I knew you'd kick me out regardless of what I had to say if I didn't pretend to have amnesia, so I decided to fake having amnesia for a while, until I could gain your trust."

"I never trusted you," Kisshu said. "And I don't see any reason to do so. I'll help protect Lettuce, but I'm not going to forgive you for what you've done to me. I'd suggest stopping trying to get me to forgive you, and focusing on protecting your girlfriend. I can never forgive you."

Pai sighed. Keiichiro looked at him briefly, then said, "Now that we know the situation, we need to talk about solutions."

"Kisshu and I are being homeschooled now," Ichigo said. "It might be easier to help, since my mom knows about the situation. And my school friends will probably help; they're being homeschooled by my mom too."

"Talk to your mother and your friends, and see what they say," Keiichiro said. "It certainly sounds like a good idea, but we need their approval as well."

"We will," Kisshu said. "Is there anything else?"

"Not right now, but I will keep you all posted," Keiichiro said.

"K," Kisshu said. He took Ichigo's hand and teleported back to her room.

Sakura came in a minute later, hearing the teleportation, and asked, "Where were you?"

"The Café, Keiichiro called a meeting," Kisshu said. "I guess this Rindoru guy tried to recruit Pai by saving him from Ichigo's attack. And Pai was faking having amnesia to try to gain my trust. There's nothing he can do to gain back my trust or get me to forgive him."

Sakura sighed, then said, "I guess now that I'm your teacher, it'll be easier for you to fight if there's an attack. Are you going to let Moe and Miwa know?"

"Yeah, it's not good to keep this from them," Ichigo said. "And maybe they'll help."

"Okay," Sakura said. "They've got free time; do you want to call them up?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She took out her cell phone, and dialed Miwa's number. After two rings, Miwa picked up and asked, _"Ichigo? What's up?"_

"More news, can you get Moe and come over, or should I call her?" Ichigo asked.

"_I can call her; she's not too far away," Miwa said. "Hang on."_

Ichigo was puzzled as she listened, but heard nothing until Miwa said, _"She's on her way to your house. I'll be there soon too. Ja ne!" _Before Ichigo could ask what had just happened, Miwa hung up.

Noticing Ichigo's puzzled expression, Kisshu asked, "What happened?"

"I asked if I should call Moe, and Miwa said that she wasn't too far away, and she would call," Ichigo said. "Then I didn't hear anything until Miwa told me Moe was on her way here. Do you think they can use telepathy?"

"It sounds like it, but I didn't realize humans could use telepathy," Kisshu said. "Much less sense where someone else is. If Moe's on her way here, it sounds like she wasn't even in the same house, but Miwa still somehow knew where she was. I guess we should ask them when they get here."

"Yeah…" Ichigo said as the doorbell rang.

It was Moe, and she said, "Hi, what's up?"

"Let's wait for Miwa too," Kisshu said.

"She's almost here," Moe said.

Sure enough, Miwa came up the walkway a minute later, and said, "Sorry I'm late. So what's up?"

"Come on in," Ichigo said. Miwa and Moe followed her in, and Ichigo said, "We've got more information on the new enemy."

"Are we going to your room?" Miwa asked.

"Yup," Ichigo replied. "Kisshu's already up there." She led the way upstairs, and saw that her door was closed. She sighed, and called, "Kisshu, what are you doing in there?"

"Uh… nothing, come on in," Kisshu called back.

Ichigo noticed Moe and Miwa looking puzzled, but opened the door anyways, and went in to find Kisshu standing with his back to her dresser, looking innocent. She sighed again and said, "Really, did you have to?"

"Uh… maybe?" Kisshu said.

"Um… what's going on?" Moe asked.

"Kisshu can be a bit perverted sometimes," Ichigo said. "He usually keeps it under control, though. Apparently not today, though." She lifted an eyebrow at Kisshu, who looked nervous.

"Sorry Koneko-chan," Kisshu said guiltily. "I won't go through your dresser again."

"You went through her underwear, didn't you?" Miwa asked in a stern tone.

"Maybe a little," Kisshu said uncomfortably. "Are you going to beat me up?"

"Not this time, but if this happens again, you will get beaten," Miwa said. "So what's the news about your new enemy?"

"He's the reason Pai survived," Ichigo said. "He tried to recruit Pai, but Pai said no. Turns out Pai was faking having amnesia to get Kisshu to trust him."

"Like that'll ever happen," Kisshu grumbled. "Anyways, what we had to ask is if you two would be willing to help us fight as well. Since Sakura is homeschooling all of us, it's easier to get away than if we were in school if something happens."

"You want us to fight as well?" Moe asked eagerly.

"Pai claims that Rindoru is very powerful, but not very smart," Kisshu said. "Ichigo and I both agree that you two would be good at fighting him. You're both already really good, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't fight, unless you don't want to."

"We'll help," Moe said without hesitation. "We'll always protect you."

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks guys," she said happily.

"We had one more question," Kisshu said. "Can you two use telepathy?"

"Yeah, but we don't know why," Miwa said. "We can also sense where the other is. We figure it has something to do with being twins. It's cool, though."

"Lucky," Ichigo said. "I always thought telepathy would be cool."

"Have you ever tried?" Kisshu asked. "You never know till you try. Focus on me and think what you want to say."

Ichigo concentrated, then thought, _Can you hear me?_

To her surprise, she heard Kisshu's voice in her head, as he said, _Yep, it worked! This is great!_

_Yay! Now we can talk privately, _Ichigo said happily. _Now Dad can't eavesdrop on us ever again!_

"This is great!" Kisshu said happily. "No more wondering if Shintaro's listening to what we're saying!"

The four of them cringed as they heard from behind them, "Care to repeat that, Kisshu?"

Kisshu gulped as Ichigo sighed, "Dad, we know you like eavesdropping on our conversations when Mom's not around. But now that I can use telepathy, you'll never hear our conversations again! YAY!"

"You two are doomed if you do anything beyond kissing," Shintaro said.

"Care to repeat that? NO ONE dooms our friends, no matter WHO it is!" Miwa said. "Do you WANT to be doomed, Mr. Momomiya?"

"Would you really doom me?" Shintaro asked.

"We were actually going to doom you that time you told Ichigo and Kisshu that you couldn't wait till they had their own place, but we couldn't figure out where Kai and Mika lived, so we decided to let Mika doom you instead," Moe said.

"I wonder who'd be worse?" Kisshu said thoughtfully. "Mika hit Shintaro with a broom the minute he walked through her front door."

Moe and Miwa's eyes lit up. "Ichigo, where's the broom closet? That sounds FUN!" Miwa said.

"OKAY! OKAY! I won't doom Kisshu and Ichigo! Just don't hit me with a broom!" Shintaro said. "Jeez, you two sound like Mika."

"Do brooms hurt?" Moe asked.

"Of course, and hers had a steel handle for some reason," Shintaro said. Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe, and Miwa burst out laughing as he said, "I bet that's her men-whacking broom."

This statement resulted in the four friends falling over, laughing too hard to stand up. Sakura had heard the noise, and came upstairs, then asked, "What's so funny?"

"Moe and Miwa are going to doom me," Shintaro said gloomily. "And now they're laughing at me because I told them Mika has a steel broom for whacking men."

"Hmm…. Maybe I should get one too," Sakura said. She walked off to find the phone as Shintaro screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Then he ran after her, leaving the four friends rolling on the floor laughing.

**Hopefully the next chapter will include some action. Review plz!**


	27. New Mews

**Namida Chapter 27:**

**New Mews**

It was quite a while before any of them calmed down, but it was good timing when they did, because Ichigo's cell phone rang. Seeing it was Keiichiro, she picked up and asked, "Keiichiro, what's up?"

"_Are Moe and Miwa planning on fighting?" _Keiichiro asked.

"They said they would," Ichigo said.

"_I've got more disturbing news," _Keiichiro said._ "I called another meeting; come here and bring them, k?"_

"On our way," Ichigo said. She hung up and turned to the others. "We've all been called to the Café," she said. "Kisshu, can you teleport us?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. "Let's get our shoes." They went downstairs and got their shoes on, and then Kisshu teleported the girls to the basement of Café Mew Mew. The others were there already, and Kisshu asked, "So what's up?"

"Ridoru sent us a message," Keiichiro said. "But it's signed by two people. I'll read it." He picked up a piece of paper, and read out, "I have a new ally, and all of you except Mew Lettuce are going down. Prepare yourselves, I will strike soon." Keiichiro sighed, then said, "It's signed, "Rindoru and Konizuka Nori."

Kisshu and Ichigo's jaws hit the floor; Moe and Miwa looked insanely happy. Keiichiro looked at them, and said, "You know her?"

"She's the girl we got expelled," Miwa said. "She's completely evil. Does this mean we can now kill her?"

"If she's helping Rindoru, we might as well," Keiichiro said.

"YAHOO!" Moe and Miwa shouted together.

"I wonder how she'll be able to help," Keiichiro said. "She's human."

"Maybe Rindoru gave her some kind of power, or turned her into a Mew Mew or a Cyniclon," Pai suggested.

"That won't matter much; she's a complete idiot," Miwa said.

"It doesn't surprise me she joined Rindoru, either," Moe said. "She's EVIL. And we're going to take her down."

"I just thought of something," Mint said. "If we get caught on camera while you two are fighting, what happens if your parents see it?"

Miwa and Moe looked worried. "They'll kill us, and then we can't protect Ichigo and Kisshu," Moe said.

"Pudding has an idea!" Pudding said. "Keiichiro-oniisan, you can turn Moe-oneechan and Miwa-oneechan into Mews! Then they won't be recognized, na no da!"

"I do have more animal DNA," Keiichiro said thoughtfully. "Is that okay with you two?"

"We love it!" Miwa said.

"Do we get weapons?" Moe asked hopefully.

"They come with the transformation," Keiichiro said. "Just don't get overly excited, k?"

"Sorry, we won't," Miwa said. "Do you think our telepathy will work in Mew Form too?"

"You can use telepathy?" Pai asked.

"Yeah, but only with each other," Miwa said. "I think it's because we're twins."

"You might be able to use it with the rest of us in Mew Form," Kisshu said. "Ichigo can use telepathy."

"She can?" Pai asked.

"Yeah, and now my dad will never be able to eavesdrop on us again!" Ichigo said happily. "I love telepathy!"

"I didn't think any of the Mews could use telepathy," Keiichiro said. "Should we see if all of you can do it?"

"Sure," Zakuro said.

"Focus on one of us, and think what you want to say," Pai said.

Zakuro concentrated, and Pai said, "Yep. Mint, you're next."

Mint concentrated, and to everyone's surprise, Kisshu said aloud, "You should already know that answer, Birdy."

The others were puzzled by this. Kisshu obviously wasn't happy about it, because he just said, "Mint can use telepathy, but she better not use it with me anymore. Who's next?"

The others saw Pudding concentrate, and Taruto turn red. Then Pudding glomped him, and to the others' surprise, he hugged back. "Aw, does Midget have a girlfriend?" Kisshu teased.

Taruto stuck his tongue out at Kisshu, who just snickered. Pai sighed and said, "Lettuce, can you try telepathy?"

Lettuce concentrated, and Pai said, "Yep, good job. Keiichiro, I think we're all set. We can check Moe and Miwa when they become Mews, but they should be able to as well."

"Good," Keiichiro said. Before he could say more, Kisshu said out loud, "Try anything and I'll kill you."

The others were puzzled, until Mint ran out. "Kisshu, would you care to explain?" Pai asked.

"Mint apparently decided that since Blondie and Treehugger are dead, I'm her next target," Kisshu said. "What an idiot. Ichigo is the ONLY one I'll ever love. And if Mint decides to get Ichigo out of the way, she can go down in flames."

"Can we just take her down now?" Miwa asked.

"No," Keiichiro said. "You can take her down if she actually does something. I have to get the animal DNA ready for you and Moe, so you all might as well go home. I should have the equipment ready by tomorrow."

"K," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, do you want to walk, or teleport?"

"Walk, it's nice out," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled, and Kisshu took her hand. Followed by Moe and Miwa, they walked out of the basement, then left the Café.

Mint was sitting on a bench outside, but they ignored her, and kept walking. As soon as they were out of earshot, Ichigo asked, "Why would Mint choose now?"

"Probably because she thought it would be easier to tell me with telepathy, and couldn't figure out how to tell me she's got a crush on me before now," Kisshu said disgustedly. "Honestly, I don't know why she'd think I would dump you to be with her. She's snobby and from what I've seen, never pulls her weight."

"I always thought it was irritating that she just sat there drinking tea and ordering me around like I was her servant," Ichigo said. "And Ryou never made her work. Maybe he had a crush on her."

"Well, if she tries anything, she can join him in hell," Kisshu said.

"We'll be back," Moe said from behind them.

"Have fun," Kisshu said. Then he and Ichigo kept walking.

They reached home, and Sakura came out to meet them as they took their shoes off. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"Could've been better," Kisshu said. "Rindoru recruited Nori, Mint's decided to try to make me her boyfriend- but at least Keiichiro's turning Moe and Miwa into Mews. That should help."

"Where are Moe and Miwa?" Sakura asked.

"Probably 'chatting' with Mint," Kisshu said. "They're ecstatic that they get to kill Nori."

"Well, I hope Mint doesn't become too much of a problem," Sakura said.

"If she does, I'll send her to hell," Kisshu said. "NO ONE gets to hurt Ichigo."

"Good," Sakura said. "I got a steel broom; Mika had an extra. Shintaro better watch out now."

From the living room, they heard a moan, and Shintaro saying, "I'm doomed…."

"At least Moe and Miwa didn't take you down, Dad," Ichigo said, giggling.

Sakura giggled, and Kisshu said, "That would have been kind of fun to watch, actually…"

"I HEARD THAT!" Shintaro shouted.

"That's nice," Ichigo called back. Then she turned back to Sakura and said, "Mom, I can use telepathy, did Dad tell you?"

"No, but that's great," Sakura said.

"Yep, and all the other Mews can too," Ichigo said. "It's too bad Mint can, though. She's probably going to drive Kisshu crazy."

"If she does, I'll just kill her," Kisshu said. "I don't need distractions while we've got a new enemy to deal with."

"Did you say Moe and Miwa are going to be Mews?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we don't want them to get recognized while fighting," Kisshu said. "Keiichiro said he'll have the equipment ready tomorrow."

"K," Sakura said. "You guys are starting homeschooling next Monday, just so you know."

"K, we'll tell Moe and Miwa," Ichigo said.

_**The next day: **_"Hey guys, today's the day," Ichigo said to Moe and Miwa, who had just arrived at her house.

"Yay!" Miwa said. "Let's go."

"Sure," Ichigo said, and followed by Kisshu, walked out of the house with her friends. "Mom says homeschooling starts Monday," she said as they walked.

"Okay," Miwa said.

A while later they reached the Café, and went in. Keiichiro was waiting for them, and he said, "Pai and I got everything ready, come on down to the basement."

The girls and Kisshu followed him downstairs, and found Pai waiting. "Who's going first?" he asked.

"I will," Miwa said. "What animal am I going to be?"

"The Red Panda," Pai said. "Moe's going to be the Giant Panda."

"Okay," Moe said.

"Miwa, would you step into this chamber? That's where you'll get infused with the Red Panda DNA," Keiichiro said.

Miwa stepped in, and Keiichiro typed something into a keypad next to the chamber, then pressed a button. There was a flash of white light, and the door opened a minute later. "It was so cute!" she said. "I like Red Pandas."

Keiichiro smiled and said, "Moe's turn."

Moe stepped into the chamber, and it closed up. Keiichiro typed in something else, then pressed the button. Another flash of white light, and Moe stepped out. "Giant Pandas are cute too!" she said.

Keiichiro picked up two pendants, and said, "These are your Mew Pendants. Try them out."

Miwa and Moe took their new pendants, and Miwa kissed hers, then shouted, "MEW MEW MIWA! METAMORPHO-SIS!" A reddish-orange light surrounded her, and when it faded, she looked very different. Her hair had turned reddish-brown, and two black-tufted ears stuck up on either side of her head. Her outfit was what surprised them, though. She was wearing a pair of black leggings tucked into reddish-brown boots that came to her knees, and a reddish-brown top that had black horizontal stripes on it. The top had cap sleeves and showed her stomach. The bands around her arms were actually on her wrists, and she had black fingerless gloves. She also had a reddish-brown tail with black stripes.

Next Moe kissed her pendant and shouted, "MEW MEW MOE! METAMORPHO-SIS!" White light surrounded her, and when it faded, she looked different too. Her hair was in the same style, but it was black, and two small white ears poked out of her hair. She was wearing the same outfit as Miwa, but hers was white where Miwa's was reddish-brown. She had a small nub of a tail, and her fingerless gloves had black spots on them.

Keiichiro brought out a full-length mirror, and Moe and Miwa looked at themselves. "This is GREAT!" they said together.

"Yes, but why are your outfits almost exactly the same?" Keiichiro asked. "They don't look like the other Mews' outfits, either."

"They look the same because we're twins, and they're different because it's harder to fight hand-to-hand in a skirt," Miwa said. "The other Mews' outfits were designed by a pervert, too. You're not a pervert, so that's why they look different."

"You're twins?" Pai asked.

"Fraternal twins," Miwa said. "Moe was raised by our mom's best friend, and we didn't know we were twins till Yuki said that we were acting like one person, and that we might want to ask if there was something our parents weren't telling us. Turns out she was right."

"Wow…" Keiichiro said. "Don't lose those pendants, k?"

"We won't," Miwa said. She touched hers and returned to normal, as did Moe. Then she turned to Kisshu and Ichigo, and said, "Let's go home."

"Good idea, there's nothing more to do today," Pai said.

"K," Kisshu said.

The four friends headed home after that.

**Next chapter might have some issues with Mint. Sorry to Mint fans, I don't really like her. Please review, and tell me what you think of my two new Mews. And YES, I did this in Sick Day, but I used different animals this time. **


	28. Stuffed Animals

**Namida Chapter 28:**

**Stuffed Animals **

When Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe, and Miwa came into the house, Sakura came out and said, "How'd it go?"

"Great, I'm a Red Panda and Moe is a Giant Panda," Miwa said. "This is COOL!"

"Good, I'm glad," Sakura said. "How'd your chat with Mint go yesterday?"

"If she tries anything, she's roadkill, and we made that clear," Moe said. "Let's hope that's enough."

"If she tries anything, you're welcome to beat her up, but killing her is MY job, got it?" Kisshu said.

"Sure," Miwa said. "It's better that way; killed by the person she's trying to get to fall in love with her."

Kisshu smirked as Moe said, "We should get home, we'll see you tomorrow."

Before they could go, however, Ichigo's cell phone rang, and she picked up. "Moshi moshi?" she said.

"_Ichigo, it's Keiichiro," _Keiichiro said. _"I got a call saying Mint has disappeared. I'm sure you know what that means, so just be careful, k?"_

"I will, and I'll let the others know," Ichigo said.

"_Good," _Keiichiro said, and hung up.

Ichigo turned to the others and said, "Mint's disappeared, we need to be careful. She's probably out to get me."

"Well, if she tries anything, she can go down in flames," Miwa said. "If we get there first, we'll let you know so Kisshu can kill her."

Kisshu smirked and said, "Thanks."

"Sure," Miwa said. "Ja ne!"

"Ja ne," Ichigo said as they left.

The rest of the day passed with no sign of Mint, and Ichigo and Kisshu decided to sleep together again.

_**Late that night: **_Ichigo woke up feeling crushed. She looked at Kisshu, who basically had a death grip on her. It was getting hard to breathe, and she tried shaking Kisshu, to no avail. Finally she slapped him across the face- right before she passed out from lack of air.

Kisshu woke up, feeling his cheek stinging. He looked at Ichigo, and realized she was gasping for air. Then he noticed his arms were around her waist, and his grip on her was really tight._ Is that why she's having trouble breathing? I was suffocating her? _Kisshu wondered, worried. He let go immediately, but Ichigo's breathing didn't get any better. Scared, Kisshu screamed telepathically the first name that came to mind. _PAI!_

Apparently Pai heard the panic in his voice, because two minutes later, he teleported in looking startled. "Since when do you call me for help?" he asked.

Kisshu sighed. "Ichigo needs help and I didn't particularly want to wake up Aunt Yuki or Uncle Hayako, you know what they're like," he said.

Pai came over, noticed Ichigo's breathing was getting fainter, and put his hand on her chest. His hand started to glow brightly, and Ichigo's breathing slowly started to even out. Ten minutes later, the glow faded and Pai sighed. "What happened?" he asked.

"I think I was hugging her too tightly, but I can't remember why," Kisshu said. "Maybe I was having a nightmare?"

Pai hesitated, then put his hand on Kisshu's forehead, and closed his eyes. "You were dreaming that Mint was trying to pull Ichigo away, and you were trying to keep her with you," he said. "You don't remember?"

"No," Kisshu said. "Normally I'd remember something like that. But when I woke up, I didn't remember anything. Except the fact I think Ichigo slapped me to wake me up."

Suddenly they both heard Ichigo ask softly, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu went over and sat next to her. "Koneko-chan, are you okay?" he asked.

"I feel kind of shaky," Ichigo said. "Were you having a nightmare? Is that why you were holding me so tightly?"

"Pai said I was dreaming that Mint was trying to take you away from me, but I can't remember," Kisshu said. "It's like the dream vanished when I woke up."

"Pai?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "I didn't want to wake up Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako, and Pai stays up all night, so I guess I just called him. The one time I woke up Aunt Yuki, I got a four hour lecture, and I was grounded for two weeks. They are NOT morning people."

Ichigo giggled, then coughed. "I think you need to hug something else," she told Kisshu a bit breathlessly. "Or go back to your room. I think one experience of being squeezed to death is enough for me."

"I don't want to go back to my room…" Kisshu said sadly.

Ichigo sighed and sat up, then stood up a bit shakily, and went to her closet. Kisshu and Pai watched, puzzled, as she started digging around in the closet. A few minutes later, she said, "Found it!" Then she came back out with a large teddy bear. She handed it to Kisshu, and said, "Hug that for tonight. I don't mind if you snuggle, but no hugging, please. Oh, and his name is Snuggles."

Pai snorted. "Pai, I wouldn't be snorting," Kisshu said warningly. "Remember Wabby?"

"Oh no…." Pai moaned.

Kisshu smirked and said to Ichigo, "As a baby, Pai couldn't pronounce 'Rabbit', but when he heard about the Earth animal called a rabbit, he named the stuffed animal thing he slept with 'Wabby'. And he only stopped sleeping with Wabby a year before the mission started. And that was only because Wabby was getting a bit worn out."

Pai was now bright red, but he still said, "Remember Mr. Lovebug?"

Kisshu buried his face in his hands as Pai told Ichigo, "Kisshu overheard my mom talking about someone being bitten by 'the love bug' and changed his stuffed bear's name from Wiggles to Mr. Lovebug. And if Mr. Lovebug's head hadn't popped off, he'd still be sleeping with him. Kisshu was devastated when Mr. Lovebug's head fell off. And Mom said she wouldn't fix it, because at the time Kisshu was about to be sent to Earth, and she said, "Do you WANT the humans to think you're a baby? You've had that thing for years, it's time to find a new one anyways."

"I like sleeping with stuffed animals," Ichigo said. "But Mr. Lovebug is pretty funny."

"Pai used to play dress-up with Wabby," Kisshu said.

"And Kisshu used to suck his thumb," Pai said.

"You two are funny," Ichigo said, giggling.

"HE'S WORSE!" Pai and Kisshu shouted at the same time.

This, naturally, brought Sakura in, and she asked wearily, "Why are you all still up?"

"He told Ichigo about Wabby!" Pai said, pointing at Kisshu.

"He told Ichigo about Mr. Lovebug!" Kisshu said at the same time.

Sakura blinked. "I didn't understand that," she said. "Who are Wabby and Mr. Lovebug?"

"Kisshu and Pai's stuffed animals," Ichigo said. "They're fighting over who's more babyish."

"Oh, honestly, why can't you two act like teenagers?" Sakura asked.

"Ichigo started it," Pai said.

"How did I start this?" Ichigo asked.

"You told us about Snuggles," Pai said, snickering.

"Why are you up at one AM talking about stuffed animals?" Sakura asked.

"Kisshu had a nightmare and nearly strangled me, and I told him if he wants to hug something, he can hug Snuggles," Ichigo said. "And then Pai snorted, and Kisshu started telling stories about 'Wabby'. And Pai retaliated."

"Can't you all just go to bed?" Sakura asked wearily.

"I can, but I'm not sure about these two," Ichigo said. "But I know how to calm Pai down." She went back to her closet, dug around for a few minutes, then came up with a stuffed rabbit. "Here you go," she told Pai. "Now are you going to bed?"

"Oh, fine," Pai said. "What's this one's name?"

"Wabbit," Ichigo said. "Most babies can't seem to say the 'rr' sound. But you can call him Wabby if you want to."

"I'm tired…" Pai said.

"You can go sleep in Kisshu's room," Sakura said. "He and Ichigo sleep together almost every night."

"Thanks," Pai said, and followed Sakura out.

"Where's your stuffed animal?" Kisshu asked Ichigo.

Ichigo went back to the closet, pulled out a smaller, black teddy bear, and said, "This is Ribbon. She used to have a ribbon, but it got lost."

"Cute," Kisshu said.

Sakura poked her head back in and said, "Go. To. Bed."

"K," Ichigo said. She turned out the light and climbed in with Kisshu, who was half asleep, hugging Snuggles. Ichigo curled up with Ribbon, and fell asleep.

**I know, I said I'd have Mint do something in this chapter. Sorry, but I got carried away again. But look on the bright side, Kisshu and Pai might be getting along better soon! Review, and tell me what you think of Wabby and Mr. Lovebug!**


	29. Kidnapped!

**Namida Chapter 29:**

**Kidnapped!**

The next morning, Kisshu woke up first, and noticed he was still hugging Snuggles. _This is kind of nice…._ he thought. Then he noticed Ichigo was waking up. "Koneko-chan?" he asked softly.

"Morning," Ichigo said sleepily. "Did you like sleeping with Snuggles?"

"Yeah, but not as much as I like sleeping with you," Kisshu said.

"I think we should stick to stuffed animals until these bruises heal," Ichigo said, lifting up her shirt to reveal some pretty bad bruises on her ribs.

Kisshu winced and said, "Sorry about that."

Ichigo just sighed and said, "Let's go see if Pai had a nice night with Wabbit."

"He's probably already gone…." Kisshu started to say, then stopped as they heard what sounded like hysterical laughter downstairs.

Kisshu and Ichigo looked at each other. "I wonder if Dad found out about the stuffed animals…" Ichigo said.

"Guess we'd better go find out," Kisshu sighed. He got out of bed, leaving Snuggles behind, and Ichigo did the same, leaving Ribbon behind too. They went downstairs to find Shintaro in the kitchen, laughing his head off, and Pai standing there holding Wabbit.

"What is going ON down here?" Ichigo asked.

"Mr. Momomiya apparently finds my new stuffed animal highly amusing," Pai said gloomily.

"And where's Mom?" Ichigo asked.

"She's behind you, with the steel broom, because your father is about to get whacked," Sakura said. Ichigo turned and saw Sakura holding a broom with a shiny steel handle. Shintaro stopped laughing and looked nervous. "Are you going to hit me with that?" he asked.

"Depends," Sakura said. "There's nothing wrong with stuffed animals- IS THERE!?"

"No, of course not," Shintaro said quickly. "I, um, I think I'll go get ready for work now…."

"You do that," Sakura said with an evil grin. Shintaro gulped and ran for it.

As soon as he was gone, Sakura giggled. Suddenly her smile faded, and she said, "Do you smell something kind of sweet?"

Ichigo sniffed the air, and said, "Yeah…"

Kisshu and Pai sniffed the air too, and said, "Yeah, we smell it too."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, sounding tired.

"I don't know," Kisshu said, also sounding tired. "I'm starting to get tired…."

Pai's eyes widened. "It's some kind of sleeping gas!" he said.

It turned out he was right, because soon the four of them were unconscious on the floor. Therefore, they didn't notice when someone came in- and took Kisshu.

_**About two hours later: **_Ichigo woke up, and looked around. _Why am I sleeping on the floor? And why are Mom and Pai on the floor too? _she wondered. Suddenly she looked around. _Uh-oh, Kisshu's gone! _she thought. _Did whoever put us to sleep take Kisshu? That probably means it's Mint. I'd better call Keiichiro. _She went over to Pai and Sakura, and shook them awake. As soon as they were awake, she said, "Kisshu's been kidnapped, so I'm assuming Mint did this. I'm going to call Keiichiro, and Moe and Miwa as well."

"I'll see if I can find him while you do that," Pai said. Ichigo nodded, then ran and got her cell phone. She dialed the Café's number first, and waited until Keiichiro picked up, then said, "Mint kidnapped Kisshu after knocking the lot of us out with some kind of sleeping gas. I'm calling Moe and Miwa, you call the other Mews, Yuki, Hayako and Taruto, k?"

"_On it," _Keiichiro said, and hung up. Ichigo quickly dialed Moe's number, and as soon as she picked up, said, "Moe, get Miwa and come here, we've got an emergency."

"_We'll be there soon," _Moe said, and hung up.

Ichigo snapped her phone shut and sighed. Realizing she was still in her pajamas, she grabbed some clothes, and closed her door, then started getting dressed. As she was brushing her hair, she heard a knock on the door, and called, "Come in!"

Pai came in and said, "I can sense Kisshu is somewhere in Tokyo, but not the exact location. However, it feels like there's more than one person nearby; maybe he's in a house or a neighborhood?"

Ichigo thought, then said, "I wonder if Mint took Kisshu to a house somewhere. Do you think I'd have better luck trying to sense him?"

"Maybe," Pai said. "Close your eyes, and focus on how he feels to you."

Ichigo closed her eyes, then thought. Kisshu felt strong to her, so she focused on that feeling of strength. An image formed in her mind. She saw what looked like a mansion, and when she focused harder, she saw a large room, with a big bed in the center. Kisshu was lying in the bed, still unconscious. "Pai, I can see him, but I don't know where the mansion he's in is," Ichigo said.

"Picture the mansion again in your mind, I'll burn it into mine and start searching," Pai said.

Ichigo focused, picturing the outside of the mansion as clearly as possible. She felt Pai's hand on her forehead for a minute, and then he said, "Got it. I'll try to teleport there."

"Wait," Ichigo said. "My friends will be here soon, take us with you. You're going to need back- up."

Pai nodded, and Ichigo transformed as the doorbell rang. She ran downstairs, followed by Pai, and opened the front door to let Moe and Miwa in. "Transform, we think we found him," Ichigo told her friends. They came in, transformed, and said, "We're ready."

"What are your weapons?" Pai asked.

"Beats us, we prefer hand-to-hand fighting," Miwa said. "We can figure it out later. Right now we need to go get Kisshu."

Pai nodded, and said, "Grab on."

The girls obeyed, and Pai teleported to the front of a large mansion. "Ichigo, do you know where in this place Kisshu is?" Pai asked.

Ichigo concentrated, and the image of Kisshu in the large bedroom appeared again. "Got it, take the image," she told Pai. She felt his hand on her forehead again, then he said, "Okay, grab on again."

The girls obeyed, and they landed soon after in the room Ichigo had seen. Ichigo noticed Kisshu lying in the bed, still unconscious. She started to run over, but noticed something was draining her power away. "This was a trap," she said grimly. "My energy's being drained."

"Mine too," Pai said.

"Same here," Moe and Miwa said.

"That's probably why Kisshu's not waking up," Ichigo said. "What do we do?"

"Nothing," Mint's voice said, and she walked into the room. "There's nothing you can do, Ichigo. You will all die here, and Kisshu will be mine."

"You're an idiot," Ichigo said weakly. "You seriously think killing me is going to make him love you?"

"I won't tell him, I'll just tell him you found someone else," Mint said.

"Yup, she's an idiot," Miwa said. "Don't you get it? Ichigo and Kisshu are bonded. If you kill Ichigo, Kisshu will die too. He'll never love you anyways, but he certainly can't love you if he's dead. And he knows Ichigo will never find anyone else."

"Give it up, Mint," Moe said. "Even if you succeed in killing us, even if you tell him lies, Kisshu will never love you. Especially since you kidnapped him."

"I'll never give up," Mint snarled. She started to lunge, and Ichigo took out her Strawberry Bell, then performed her attack. She had had too much of her energy drained away, so it didn't do much damage, and Mint just smirked as Ichigo fell to her knees, too weak to stand. Pai fell to his knees soon after, and Moe and Miwa fell together. Soon after, they were unconscious.

When they woke up again, they were all feeling stronger- but that didn't help the fact that they were chained up. "NOW what do we do?" Miwa asked.

"These chains don't cancel out our powers, but they're too strong to break out of," Ichigo said, pulling at the handcuffs attached to the wall.

Moe suddenly got an idea, and said, "Miwa, see if you can touch my foot with yours. I've got an idea."

Miwa seemed to know what she was thinking, because her eyes lit up, and she reached out with her foot. The minute their feet touched, Moe and Miwa pulled on the handcuffs, and they broke off. "Yes!" they said together. They then clasped hands, and the cuffs snapped off. Then they freed Ichigo and Pai, and said, "Let's go get Kisshu, guys."

"You two are amazing," Pai said as they started running down the hall.

_**With Kisshu: **_Kisshu woke up in an unfamiliar room, feeling like his strength had been drained away. He realized the room canceled out his powers, and immediately got worried. _And what happened to Ichigo? I remember we all got knocked out by sleeping gas, but then- I bet Mint did this. She is SO going down, _Kisshu thought. Then he thought of something else, and thought, _That is, if I can get my strength back. Damn. I guess I'll have to wait; I can't even sit up yet._

He heard footsteps, and turned his head. Mint walked into the room, and said, "So you're awake?"

"What are you planning on doing to me?" Kisshu snarled. "You've already drained all my energy, so what's next?"

"Nothing," Mint said. "I'm just going to keep you here until you fall in love with me."

"Like that'll ever happen," Kisshu snarled.

"I guess you'll be here a while, then," Mint said.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Ichigo shouted from behind her.

Mint spun and shouted, "How the HELL did you get free!?"

"That's for us to know, and you NOT to find out," Miwa snarled. "You're going down, Bird-girl."

"We'll see," Mint snarled, and took out her bow.

Moe told Ichigo telepathically, _You and Pai get to Kisshu while we distract Birdy._

_Got it, _Ichigo replied. She said to Pai, _Moe and Miwa will distract Mint while we get to Kisshu. I think Mint drained all his energy to make sure he couldn't fight her._

_Understood, _Pai said. As Moe and Miwa lunged at Mint, Pai took Ichigo's hand and teleported to the far side of the bed from where Mint was fighting. Kisshu looked over, and said telepathically, _Mint drained my energy, I can barely move. Can you help?_

Pai took Kisshu's hand, and started pouring his strength into Kisshu. Finally he said, _That's all I can give you without draining myself. _

_Thanks, _Kisshu said. He sat up, then took out his swords. Suddenly he got an idea, and called telepathically, _Moe! Miwa! Take my swords and kill Mint; I still can't stand up._

_Understood, _the twins replied, and flipped over Mint's head, landing behind her. As she turned, Moe and Miwa each took one of Kisshu's swords. As Mint lunged at them, they crossed the swords and to everyone's surprise, formed a ball of energy, which they sent at Mint. It hit her in the chest, and she screamed. Then Moe and Miwa lunged forward, stabbing Mint through the heart at the same time, and ripping Kisshu's swords out as Mint screamed again. Then Mint collapsed, and Moe and Miwa smirked. "That's taken care of," Miwa said.

"Good job," Ichigo said. "You're something else."

"Thanks," Moe said. She and Miwa cleaned Kisshu's swords off on Mint's dress, and handed them back.

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "What do we do with the body?"

"Just leave it," Miwa said. "We need to get back."

"Everyone grab on," Pai said. "You shouldn't teleport yet, Kisshu."

Kisshu sighed, and he and the girls all held on to Pai as he teleported back to Ichigo's house. They landed in the living room, and Ichigo caught Kisshu as he fell; he still couldn't stand. Sakura came running, and asked, "What HAPPENED?"

"Mint had something that drained all my energy," Kisshu said. "Pai gave me some of his, and I gave Moe and Miwa my swords. They killed Mint."

Sakura sighed. "Good," she said. "You'd better call Keiichiro, he's been trying to track you guys."

Ichigo ran and got her phone, then dialed the Café's number. Keiichiro picked up after one ring, and Ichigo said, "We got Kisshu back, but we had to kill Mint. She had somehow drained all of Kisshu's energy."

"_Is Kisshu okay?" _Keiichiro asked.

"He's going to need some rest, I think," Ichigo said. "He can't stand up."

Keiichiro sighed. _"Well, at least you got him back," _he said. "_I'll keep you posted on Rindoru and Nori; tell Kisshu to take it easy."_

"Will do," Ichigo said, and hung up. Then she went downstairs, and told the others, "Keiichiro's going to keep us posted on anything new on Rindoru and Nori; he says Kisshu should take it easy."

"Not like I've got much of a choice," Kisshu sighed. He was sitting on the sofa, and Pai went over and picked him up. "I'll take you back upstairs, you need to rest," he told Kisshu.

"Thanks…" Kisshu said tiredly.

Pai went upstairs, then said, "Ichigo's room?"

"Yeah…." Kisshu said. Pai took him to Ichigo's room, and set him down on the bed. Kisshu sighed, then got under the covers as Ichigo came in. "Do you want me to stay?" she asked Kisshu.

"If you don't mind…" Kisshu said.

"I don't mind," Ichigo said. She sat on the bed with him, and started stroking his hair as he sleepily picked up Snuggles and fell asleep. Pai left as Ichigo continued stroking Kisshu's hair.

**Well, Mint went too far, and now she's dead. I'll try to do more soon; it's already almost 2 AM here. Plz review in the meantime!**


	30. Trust Reforged

**Namida Chapter 30:**

**Trust Reforged**

Kisshu started to wake up a few hours later, feeling a bit stronger. He opened his eyes as Ichigo called his name softly, and looked up at her. "Are you feeling any stronger?" she asked him softly.

"A little," Kisshu said. "But I don't think I can stand up yet, much less walk. Mint's energy draining thing took everything I had. Much longer, and the energy loss would have killed me."

Ichigo looked worried, and said, "I guess you'll need to take it easy for a while. Still, this is bad timing. Mint's a real idiot, draining you when we've got a new enemy on our hands."

"Not to mention she thought killing you would help," Kisshu said. "If you died, I would die as well."

"Same here," Ichigo said.

Sakura came in, and asked, "Kisshu, how are you feeling?"

"Still unable to stand," Kisshu said grimly. "Mint took everything I had, and even though Pai's power transfer helped, I won't be able to fight for a while. I don't like this…"

"Pai said eating something would help," Sakura said. "I made some fish stew and apple pie. You have to have stew first, though."

"That sounds good," Kisshu said. "Can Ichigo and I eat up here?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "Just don't make a mess, k?"

"We won't," Ichigo said.

Sakura left, coming back ten minutes later carrying a tray with two large bowls of fish stew, and set it on Ichigo's desk. "Enjoy," she said, smiling, and left them alone. Ichigo put one of the bowls on her desk, then took the tray with the other one, and handed it to Kisshu, who put it on his lap and started eating.

Ichigo did the same as Kisshu said, "This stuff tastes great!"

"I like anything with fish," Ichigo said.

"That's natural, you're part cat, and cats love fish," Pai said, coming into the room.

"Why do cats hate water, but love fish?" Ichigo asked.

Pai looked thoughtful. "That's a good question," he said. "You'd think that since they hate water, they'd hate anything to do with water. But instead their favorite food is something that can't live without water. Maybe I should do research on that…"

"Before you get too carried away, would you like to tell us what you're doing in here?" Kisshu asked a bit disgruntledly.

"I came to see how you were feeling," Pai said. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

"I can't, Pai," Kisshu said. Then he said in a softer voice, "I'm sorry." His voice cracked on the word 'sorry'.

Pai noticed his voice crack, and said softly, "There's something you won't tell me."

Kisshu looked down, and said, "You were my brother; the only person who comforted me when my parents died. We were best friends, and I was never that close with anyone, including Ichigo. I really thought you were the only one who would ever understand me. I believed that you would always be there for me, no matter whether we had disagreements or not. Even when I saw what you did to Taruto, I still held onto the hope that you and I still had some kind of bond. But then you knocked me out. And when I woke up in here four days later, and told Ichigo what had happened, I was only pretending to be angry with you. I felt like you had ripped my heart out. It hurt more than any of Ichigo's rejections. To a degree, I understood Ichigo's rejections; we were enemies, and she already had someone, even though he was a jerk with no brains and didn't deserve her. But I couldn't understand why you would hurt me, Pai."

Pai was looking horrified, as Kisshu continued, "All this time, I was only somewhat angry. You ripped me up inside, and I decided that showing anger was better than showing you how much you hurt me. My heart was already slowly breaking from Ichigo's rejections; you shattered it. And I still haven't gotten over this. Ichigo's been helpful, but since I didn't tell her that I was sad instead of mad, she became angry with you- to the point where she would do anything to protect me from you, even going so far as to kill you. She told me later that she felt sad about killing you, but because she didn't want to lose Lettuce's friendship. I understood that feeling; I never wanted to lose your friendship, Pai. And when I did, it was all I could do not to cry myself to sleep every night. But I knew that as long as you were working for that ball of light, it would do me no good. So I held everything inside- until today, when you actually asked why I wouldn't trust you."

Pai looked at Ichigo, who immediately got up and left, closing the door softly behind her. Pai closed his eyes and snapped his fingers, soundproofing the room. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Kisshu. Kisshu looked back, and Pai sank down onto the edge of the bed. The look in Kisshu's eyes was simply too much. Kisshu looked devastated, and Pai finally realized how much he had hurt Kisshu. Burying his face in his hands, Pai did something he hadn't done in a long time. He started crying.

Though he made no sound, Kisshu saw Pai's shoulders shaking, and was shocked. _He hasn't cried in years…. _Kisshu thought. "Pai?" he asked softly.

"I have no words to express how sorry I am for hurting you," Pai whispered. "Ichigo was right that day; I should have thought before attacking you and Taruto. You've always been the closest person to me; more so even than Taruto, or Mom or Dad. More so than even Lettuce. You're not only my brother; you're the only friend I ever had who understood me, and I never should have hurt you, whether it was physically or emotionally. And now I've done both. And I realize that even if you forgive me, I can't forgive myself. You're the most important person to me, not Lettuce. I can't believe I did that…"

"I feel the same," Kisshu said softly. "Even Ichigo doesn't mean as much to me as you do, and she's my soulmate. I guess I probably shouldn't have acted the way I did as well, but I was just so broken up that I didn't know how to handle my feelings. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Pai said. "Everything you did was because of my mistakes, and I don't blame you at all. Can you ever forgive me for what I've done to you?"

Kisshu was silent a minute, and to Pai, that minute was an eternity of worrying. Then Kisshu said softly, "I already have, Pai."

Pai sighed and said, "Thank you, Kisshu." Then to Kisshu's surprise, Pai hugged him tightly. Kisshu hugged back just as tightly, and when they broke apart, Pai smiled- a real smile, not zombie-like at all.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you smile, Pai," Kisshu said.

"I haven't really had reason to in a while," Pai admitted. "I think I'll be a lot happier now."

"Good," Kisshu said, also smiling. "Should we-" he broke off as they heard from downstairs, "OW!"

"Sounds like Mr. Momomiya," Pai said. "Should we go see what happened?"

"I still can't walk," Kisshu said.

"I think I can fix that," Pai said. He took Kisshu's left hand, and started pouring his strength into Kisshu.

A few minutes later, Pai asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot stronger," Kisshu said. "Thanks, Pai."

Pai smiled. "Sure," he said. "Let's go downstairs."

They went downstairs, and found a pretty strange scene in the dining room. Shintaro appeared to be unconscious, and Ichigo and Sakura were giggling. "What's going on?" Kisshu asked.

"Kisshu, you can walk now?" Ichigo asked.

"Pai helped me," Kisshu said. "So why is Shintaro unconscious?"

"He was mumbling something about the two of you being in love, so Ichigo and I took turns whacking him with my steel broom," Sakura said brightly.

"Dad is weird," Ichigo said. "But Moe and Miwa were right, whacking him with a broom IS fun."

"Why would he think we're in love?" Pai asked.

"Because I came down and said I left you two alone to talk," Ichigo sighed. "He completely misinterpreted that."

"My husband can be a complete idiot," Sakura sighed.

"So did you get things settled?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu smiled, and said, "We did."

To his surprise, Ichigo looked worried, but this was explained when she asked, "Pai, are you okay? It looks like you were crying."

"I'm fine, now that Kisshu's forgiven me," Pai said.

Ichigo sighed. "I'm glad," she said. "After that night where Kisshu almost strangled me, and you healed me, I started hoping that you two would reconcile. I realize my behavior towards you wasn't all that great, and I'm sorry for that. I guess I couldn't get past the fact that Kisshu nearly died because of you, and I probably overdid it. Can you forgive me?"

"Yes," Pai said with a smile. Then he hugged her, and she hugged back- at least until Kisshu said, "Don't you already have a girlfriend?"

Pai and Ichigo broke apart, both bright red, and Pai was about to apologize, when he saw Kisshu snickering. "That worked," Kisshu said.

"Tickle," Pai said a bit evilly. Kisshu squeaked and teleported.

"He's never going to come out; did you have to?" Ichigo asked Pai.

"Where is he?" Pai asked.

"Usually under his bed," Ichigo sighed. "Or under my bed, but more often under his."

"Will you get him?" Pai asked.

"No, you get to explain that you're not actually going to tickle him," Ichigo said firmly. "I'm glad you two worked things out, though."

"Me too," Pai said.

They heard a groan from behind them, and saw Shintaro waking up. "That hurt…" he moaned.

"That's what you get for suggesting Kisshu is cheating on me with Pai," Ichigo said calmly. "They were just talking, and Kisshu finally forgave Pai for everything he's done. That's all they did. Honestly, you can be such an idiot. What would give you the idea that just because I left the two of them alone, they'd start kissing or something?"

Pai shuddered as Shintaro said, "All I said was, "They'd better not be together"- and you two started whacking me!"

"Honestly, didn't you know Pai already has a girlfriend?" Sakura asked. "And there's nothing wrong with being gay. Kisshu and Pai, however, are not gay, and on top of that, they're brothers. Would you be cheating on me with Tano?"

"HELL no," Shintaro said.

"Then quit complaining, or you can get whacked," Sakura said calmly. "And then sent to Kai and Mika's again."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shintaro screamed, causing Pai and Ichigo to clap their hands over their ears.

When Shintaro stopped screaming, Ichigo said, "Pai and I will be joining Kisshu under his bed while Mom whacks you." She promptly grabbed Pai's arm and dragged him off.

They went to Kisshu's room, where they heard a squeak from under the bed. "Kisshu, I wasn't going to tickle you," Pai sighed. "We came to join you; Mr. Momomiya's having an insane freak-out about you cheating on Ichigo with me. No offense to you, Ichigo, but your father's an insane moron."

"I already knew that," Ichigo sighed, as they heard another, "OW! QUIT WHACKING ME!" from downstairs.

Pai sighed. "I'm tired, I think I'll soundproof this room and go to bed," he said. "Ichigo, your room is already soundproofed."

"Great, thanks," Ichigo said with relief. "Where's Wabbit?"

"Over there," Pai said, pointing to the armchair.

"Good," Ichigo said. "Come on Kisshu, let's go get ready for bed."

"I still don't get to hug you, do I?" Kisshu asked as they left Pai alone.

"It's going to hurt, so no," Ichigo said. "You've got Snuggles, though."

Kisshu perked up a bit, and said, "I like Snuggles."

Ichigo giggled. "I like Ribbon," she said. "I'm glad Pai likes Wabbit."

Kisshu smiled happily as they went off to get ready for bed.

**Okay, this chapter was a bit heart-wrenching, in my opinion, but I hope you like it. Aren't you glad that Pai and Kisshu are friends? Oh, and this isn't going to be yaoi, it's just Shintaro's insanity kicking in. I have nothing against yaoi, but Kisshu and Pai don't belong together. Kisshu and ICHIGO belong together, at least in my opinion. I hope you'll all review!**


	31. Hostage Situation

**Namida Chapter 31:**

**Hostage Situation**

The next day, Keiichiro called a meeting, and everyone gathered in the basement of Café Mew Mew.

When everyone was there, Keiichiro said, "I received another message from Rindoru. This one suggests that he's planning on a hostage situation, but I can't figure out who he might be taking. What puzzles me is that he left a riddle in the message. It's like he wants us to find out who he's taking."

"What's the riddle?" Pai asked.

Keiichiro picked up a piece of paper, and read out, "'Say farewell to the tree that means the most to one of you.' That's all it says."

"A tree?" Lettuce asked.

"I have a tree that I like a lot," Kisshu said. "The sakura tree in Inohara Park."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "That's it!" she said. "Sakura! That means he's going to kidnap my mom!"

The others looked shocked, but before they could do anything, they heard teleportation upstairs, and after transforming, ran up the stairs. To everyone except Moe and Miwa's surprise, there was a Cyniclon girl standing in the middle of the main room.

"Nori," Miwa said. "Still as stupid as ever, I see."

"You two are going down," Nori said. "Actually all of you except Mew Lettuce are going down, but you two will go down first. Especially since you can't fight with weapons."

"Wanna bet?" Miwa asked. She and Moe each threw out their right arms to the side. To everyone's shock, swords appeared in their hands, and Moe said, "Can you fight with weapons? Or are you too stupid for that?"

Nori snarled and took out a sword as well. Before any of them could make a move, however, teleportation sounded again, and another Cyniclon appeared. He appeared to be older than Yuki and Hayako, and he had black hair and red eyes. "Nori, have you delivered the message?" he asked.

"No, these two started berating me before I could," Nori said.

The Cyniclon sighed. Then he turned to the Mews and said, "I am Rindoru, and now that I have Momomiya Sakura as my captive, you have no choice but to hand over Mew Lettuce."

"Why should we let you take her?" Pai asked. "You're like fifty years older than her. There's no way in hell she'd want to marry you."

Rindoru snarled. "I'm beginning to regret saving you," he said.

"That's nice," Pai said. "Anything else you wanted to tell us?"

"Momomiya Sakura has a week to live. Lettuce must become mine in a week's time, or I will kill Mrs. Momomiya," Rindoru said. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, threw it at Keiichiro, and said, "Remember, one week." Then he and Nori teleported out.

Keiichiro opened the paper, and said, "It appears to be directions."

"To where?" Ichigo asked.

"The place in his dimension where he wants to do the exchange," Keiichiro said.

"Jeez, what an idiot," Kisshu said. "He's giving us directions to his dimension?"

"If I analyze this, I might be able to find a way in that won't get noticed," Keiichiro said. "Pai, can you help?"

"I should go with Kisshu and Ichigo, and make sure her insane father is okay," Pai said. "Maybe Dad can help."

"I'd be happy to, but is there something you're not telling us?" Hayako asked.

"Kisshu and I reconciled," Pai said with a smile.

Yuki and Hayako sighed, relieved. "Then go back with them, I'll help Keiichiro," Hayako said. "It's about time you two settled things."

"I agree," Yuki said. "Ichigo, have you made your peace?"

"I made my peace a few days ago," Ichigo said. "Kisshu almost suffocated me when we were sleeping, and he got Pai to heal me. I've been hoping since then that Kisshu and Pai would reconcile."

"Kisshu almost suffocated you?" Yuki asked, worried.

"I was having a nightmare about Mint trying to take Ichigo away," Kisshu said sheepishly. "I was holding Ichigo too tightly."

"We've switched to stuffed animals till the bruises on my ribs heal," Ichigo said.

"Oh, so you finally got a new stuffed animal, Kisshu?" Yuki asked.

"Yep, and so did Pai," Kisshu said happily. "Ichigo gave him a stuffed rabbit."

"What's its name?" Lettuce asked.

"Wabbit," Pai said- and turned red when Lettuce giggled. "Hey, Kisshu's sleeping with a bear named Snuggles," he said indignantly.

"Ichigo, what are you sleeping with?" Yuki asked.

"A bear named Ribbon," Ichigo said. "Stuffed animals are nice."

"I suppose they told you about their childhood stuffed animals?" Hayako asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "Unfortunately, they started telling me how babyish the other one was, and my mom came in and asked us why we were talking about stuffed animals at one AM."

Yuki sighed as the others giggled. "Why were you even up?" she asked.

"That was when Kisshu almost suffocated me," Ichigo explained.

"Back to the Rindoru thing," Keiichiro said. "Hayako and I will start trying to find a way in, so the rest of you are free to go. I'll call you if we learn anything new."

The others nodded, and Kisshu teleported Ichigo home, Pai close behind.

They landed in Ichigo's room, and her eyes widened. "I hope Dad is okay!" she said, and ran for the stairs. Pai and Kisshu were right behind her, as she ran to the living room. As the boys came in, Ichigo screamed, "DAD!"

Kisshu ran over, and saw Shintaro lying on the ground. Pai came over, and put his hand on Shintaro's chest. Kisshu and Ichigo noticed Shintaro was barely breathing, as Pai's hand began to glow. Five minutes later, Pai bowed his head. "I can't heal him," he whispered. "I don't know what happened, but whatever Rindoru did to him, the damage to his internal organs is too great."

Ichigo and Kisshu looked at him in horror. They looked back at Shintaro, who had stopped breathing. Ichigo started to reach out. Pai seemed to know what she was thinking, and gently took her hand. "Ichigo, it won't work on an ordinary human. I'm sorry."

Ichigo looked at her father's still face, and wailed. The sound she let out as tears poured down her face was heartbroken. "This is all my fault!" she wailed. "If I hadn't become a Mew, he would be alive!"

Kisshu and Pai had nothing to say; they just hugged Ichigo together. Suddenly they heard banging on the front door, and then it was flung open. Moe and Miwa ran into the room, completely out of breath, and stopped dead. "How did you know?" Pai asked.

"We just realized we're bonded to Ichigo," Miwa said. "We heard her screaming, and ran from the Café here. Is Mr. Momomiya…" she trailed off as Pai nodded grimly.

"I think he died trying to protect Sakura," Pai said. "I wasn't able to save him."

"Ichigo fell asleep," Kisshu said softly.

"We need to get Mrs. Momomiya back," Moe said. "Miwa and I will tell the others what happened; you two stay with Ichigo."

As soon as Pai and Kisshu nodded, Moe and Miwa ran back out. Kisshu sighed, and picked up Ichigo. Followed by Pai, he took her upstairs, and tucked her into her bed. Then he put Snuggles in her arms, watching as she curled up with the teddy bear.

When he turned back to Pai, Pai looked worried. Then he said telepathically, _What do we do now?_

_We help Ichigo get through this, and get Sakura back as fast as possible, _Kisshu replied. _We can't let Sakura die. Ichigo wouldn't be able to handle them both dying._

_Agreed, _Pai said.

About four hours later, Ichigo started to stir. Kisshu and Pai were still in her room, and Kisshu asked softly, "Koneko-chan?"

"Kisshu?" Ichigo asked, sounding sad. She sat up, and looked at Kisshu. Kisshu got worried; the spark in her eyes was gone. Her eyes were blank, and as he watched, they filled with tears again. Kisshu pulled her into his arms, and hugged her tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder.

"Ichigo, I swear we're going to get Sakura back," Kisshu said. "And we're all going to help you through this."

"Thanks…" Ichigo whispered.

Suddenly her cell phone rang, and seeing it was Keiichiro, Pai picked up. "Keiichiro, did you find something?" he asked.

"_No, but I have a feeling Ichigo might be able to," _Keiichiro said. _"Moe and Miwa came here, told Hayako and myself what had happened, and told me to call the others together while they handled this. Then the two of them clasped hands, and teleported."_

"They _teleported_!?" Pai asked.

"_Hai, and before they did so, they told us that they and Ichigo are bonded," _Keiichiro said. _"Can you ask Ichigo to try to sense them? She's the only one who might be able to find them."_

"I'll try," Pai said. "Have you tried to track Moe and Miwa's pendants?"

"_Yes, but the signal is cut off," _Keiichiro said.

"Understood, we'll do our best," Pai said, and hung up.

Kisshu looked at him, and Pai came over, then said, "Ichigo, can you try to sense where Moe and Miwa are?"

"Did something happen?" Ichigo asked.

"Apparently they told Keiichiro they were going to handle this, and somehow teleported out of the Café," Pai said. "And now their pendants aren't giving off a signal."

Ichigo looked worried, and said, "I'll try. If I find them, take the image."

Pai nodded as Ichigo closed her eyes, and focused on her friends. An imaged formed in her mind, of Moe and Miwa in a large room with Nori and Rindoru. "Got it," she said.

Pai put his hand on her forehead, and a minute later, said, "I'll get the others together, you two go help them." He gave Kisshu the image, and Kisshu stood up, pulling Ichigo up with him. "Transform, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Ichigo obeyed, and the spark returned to her eyes. "Let's go," she said.

Kisshu smiled, and took her hand, then teleported to the room where Moe and Miwa were facing off with Rindoru and Nori.

**I made myself cry writing this…. And then I left you all with a cliffie. Oh well, please review!**


	32. Showdown

**Namida Chapter 32:**

**Showdown**

Kisshu teleported Ichigo to the room, and they landed just as Moe and Miwa summoned their swords. "It's impossible for the two of you to defeat us," Rindoru called.

"Four now," Kisshu called, as he and Ichigo walked up to stand with Moe and Miwa. "We're going to take you down, Rindoru."

"I'd like to see you try," Rindoru scoffed. "Besides, I still have Mew Ichigo's mother."

"Not anymore," another voice said from behind them. Everyone looked over to see Pai with Sakura, who was apparently unconscious. "I'm taking her home," Pai said. "And you can't stop me." With that he teleported out.

"What will you do now?" Moe asked. "You're outnumbered, and you just lost your bargaining chip."

"I don't think killing me would make your father very happy," Rindoru said.

"What would you know?" Miwa asked. "Besides, our father dumped our mother when he found out she was pregnant. Why should we care what makes a total jerk happy?"

"Your father didn't dump your mother, she only thought he did," Rindoru said. "In reality, he left her to protect her from his enemies."

"How the hell would you know all this?" Moe asked warily.

"Your father was my son," Rindoru said.

Ichigo and Kisshu's jaws hit the floor; Moe and Miwa simply looked shocked. "But- we're both human!" Miwa said.

"Half human, actually," Rindoru said. "You didn't think it was odd, that you could use telepathy and sense each other's location even before you became Mews?"

"Uh…" Moe said. "We thought it was because we're twins."

"Human twins wouldn't be able to do that," Rindoru said. "Cyniclon twins are quite different, whether they're fraternal or identical. They can both use telepathy and sense each other's locations even before they're trained to use their powers. Earlier, you two teleported here. Even the Mews can't do that. Haven't you noticed other things while you're fighting?"

"We were able to use Kisshu's swords to form an energy ball, when we were killing Mint," Miwa said.

Rindoru looked startled, and said, "You must be more powerful than I thought; the ability to use others' weapons the way they are meant to be used is rare."

"Why didn't our mother tell us?" Moe asked.

"She didn't know, your father didn't want to put her in danger," Rindoru said. "He knew that by seemingly dumping her and not telling her about his true identity, she and the two of you would have a better chance of survival."

"And the reason you're telling us this is…" Miwa said.

"To give you a choice," Rindoru said. "You can stay with your friends and be annihilated, or you can join me."

"We will never join the jerk who killed our best friend's dad," Moe said. "And we've got news for you. You can't possibly hope to annihilate us. Instead, WE will annihilate YOU."

Rindoru shrugged, and said, "You can try."

As if this was a cue, Nori, who had remained silent, lunged at Moe and Miwa. To Ichigo and Kisshu's surprise, and obviously to Rindoru's, the twins held out their right hands, and two ripples formed in the air. Nori couldn't stop in time to avoid them, and the ripples froze her. Miwa walked over, and yanked the sword out of Nori's hand, then looked at it closely. Then she smirked. "Perfect," she said. "Moe, the sword's ability is fire. Let's see how well we do at incinerating people. Ichigo shouldn't have all the fun."

Moe grinned, and came over. She put her hand over Miwa's, and they grasped the sword together. Then they pointed it at Nori, who looked nervous. Ichigo and Kisshu saw the twins concentrate, and then a large blast of fire enveloped Nori. Nori had time for one last scream before the flames consumed her.

Ichigo and Kisshu looked on, and Ichigo said telepathically, _I guess they didn't need help…_

_Wait a bit, Pai said Rindoru is more powerful, _Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded slightly as Moe and Miwa turned to face a stunned Rindoru. "What will you do now?" Miwa asked.

"And why are you so dead set on getting Lettuce? She's at least thirty years younger than you," Moe said.

"Her ability to control water will be extremely helpful in my plans," Rindoru said. "I want revenge on Kaio for exiling me."

"You're an idiot," Moe said. "Lettuce would never help you. Even if you brainwashed her, it's not in her nature to help someone with revenge. She hates fighting, and brainwashing won't change someone's nature."

"And it's not Kaio's fault you tried to murder him, it's your own," Miwa said. "You didn't have to do that, it was a choice you made. And that choice was the reason you got exiled. You have only yourself to blame."

Rindoru snarled, but before he could attack, teleportation sounded in the room, and a Cyniclon not much younger than Rindoru appeared. Kisshu went down on one knee as Rindoru snarled, "Kaio."

"That's right," Kaio said. "When I heard you had become a threat to Earth as well as Cyniclonia, I came to Earth. Ikisatashi Pai informed me of your location, and I came here to help. I heard you also turned a human into a Cyniclon, which is yet another breach in our laws."

"She asked for it, she wanted revenge on these four," Rindoru said.

"We incinerated her," Miwa said. "I can't believe how stupid she was. She joined this jerk simply because we got her expelled from our school."

"You incinerated her?" Kaio asked.

"Yeah, her weapon's ability was fire, so we decided to put it to good use after freezing her," Moe said.

"You two have the ability to turn other's weapons against them?" Kaio asked.

"Not really, but we can use them the way they're meant to be used, as long as we do it together," Miwa said. "We were able to use Kisshu's swords to create an energy ball."

"You can use _Kisshu's _weapons?" Kaio asked incredulously.

"Yes, is that unusual?" Miwa asked.

"The last warrior to be able to use others' weapons as well as his own died fifty years ago," Kaio said. "But you two don't look like Cyniclons."

"We're half Cyniclon, according to him," Miwa said, pointing at Rindoru.

Kaio raised an eyebrow at Rindoru, who said, "My son got a human woman pregnant, and she gave birth to half-Cyniclon, half-human fraternal twins."

"And the reason you two aren't working with him is…" Kaio said.

"He killed Ichigo's dad, and unless you've got some other solution, we were planning on taking him down," Moe said. "NO ONE gets to hurt Ichigo and/or Kisshu when we're around."

"I came here to kill him, but if you two are so dead set on this, I won't interfere if you don't want me to," Kaio said.

"Thank you," Miwa said, and she and Moe turned to face Rindoru as Kaio went to Kisshu and Ichigo. Rindoru took out a long sword, and lunged at Moe and Miwa, who jumped into the air and flipped over his head while taking out their swords. He spun as they landed, and sent what looked like a wave of energy at them. They crossed their swords, and as the energy wave hit the swords, they pushed it back, and it hit Rindoru in the chest.

"That did some damage," Miwa said. "Hey, what if we tried that?"

Moe smirked and said, "I think I can do it, back up a bit." As Miwa obeyed, Moe swept her sword in a half circle, and a wave of energy formed, hitting Rindoru in the chest again. He cried out this time, and Moe smirked. "Miwa, let's combine our powers, I've got an idea," she said.

Miwa obviously knew what she was thinking, because she came over and crossed her sword with Moe's. Then they pointed the crossed swords at Rindoru, who was still recovering from the energy waves. The twins formed a large ball of energy, and sent it at Rindoru. It enveloped his body, and he screamed as like Nori, his body was consumed.

As his ashes fell to the ground, Miwa and Moe let their weapons disappear. Kisshu, Ichigo, and Kaio ran over, and Miwa said, "That's done. Let's go home."

"Good plan," Kisshu said. "Can you two teleport, or do you need me to do it?"

"We're kind of tired, do you mind?" Moe asked.

"Not at all," Kisshu said. "Grab on."

The girls obeyed, and followed by Kaio, Kisshu teleported to the basement of Café Mew Mew. Everyone was in there, and their heads jerked up as they heard the teleportation. Keiichiro sighed and said, "Are you all okay?"

"Yup, and Miwa and I destroyed Nori and Rindoru," Moe said.

"Wow…" Taruto said.

"So what was up with you two teleporting?" Yuki asked.

"We're apparently half-Cyniclon, and Rindoru was our grandfather," Miwa said.

The others' jaws hit the floor.

**A lot of people have asked me whether Moe and Miwa are actually human. Well, there's your answer in this story. Sorry it's short, but it's almost 1 AM, and I'm tired. So if you've got ideas or just a review, you've got plenty of time! **


	33. Explanations and Sadness

**Namida Chapter 33:**

**Explanations and Sadness**

The others looked shocked. "Y-you're half Cyniclon?" Keiichiro asked.

"Apparently," Miwa said.

"They've got a very rare ability, too," Kaio said. "They can use others' weapons the way they're meant to be used."

Yuki, Taruto, Pai, and Hayako looked shocked. "The last warrior with that ability died over fifty years ago," Hayako said. "And he was full Cyniclon, not just half."

"I don't think the human side really matters with these two," Kaio said. "They're extremely powerful, both together and separate."

"What are we going to tell our mom?" Miwa asked.

"This might not be something you should tell her," Pai said. "Unless you're absolutely positive she and your stepfather will keep this quiet."

Miwa and Moe looked at each other, then Moe said, "I don't think this is a topic we'll be able to keep quiet forever. I already overheard her telling our stepdad that she sometimes wonders if we're actually human."

Keiichiro sighed, and said, "Then call her, and tell her to come here."

Miwa took out her cell phone, and dialed a number. She held the phone to her ear, and the others were silent as she said, "Hi Mom. I'm at Café Mew Mew, and Moe and I need you here. Okay, see you soon." She hung up and said, "Fifteen minutes, let's go upstairs."

"K," the others said. They all went upstairs, and sat down to wait. Finally they heard a knock on the door, and Miwa got up to open it. She let her mother in, and Mrs. Honjou looked startled to see everyone there. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We discovered something interesting about your ex-boyfriend today," Moe said. "He wasn't human."

Mrs. Honjou looked shocked, and asked, "What was he?"

"A Cyniclon, like the guys who used to be attacking Tokyo," Miwa said. "We also discovered that the reason he left you was to protect you and us from his enemies."

"Where did you learn all this?" Mrs. Honjou asked. "And why are all these others here?"

"Everyone's here because we're Mews," Miwa said. "Ichigo is too, and Kisshu is a Cyniclon. Everyone here is a part of this, and it's really important that you keep this a secret, or we'll all get killed or dissected."

Mrs. Honjou was looking overwhelmed, and Keiichiro said, "Moe, Miwa, I think you're going too fast."

The twins sighed, and Mrs. Honjou asked Keiichiro, "Who are you?"

"I'm Akasaka Keiichiro," Keiichiro said. "I helped create Tokyo Mew Mew, and I am the one who turned Miwa and Moe into Mews upon their request."

"You two ASKED to become Mews?" Mrs. Honjou asked.

"Yup, we knew that since we were helping Ichigo fight her latest enemy, we'd need different appearances if we got caught on camera," Miwa said. "Luckily that never happened, but it was just a precaution. And now we both have swords!"

"Great…." Mrs. Honjou moaned. "So how did you discover all this about your father?"

"Ichigo's latest enemy was our grandfather," Moe said. "He told us, and then said he would let us work for him, but we said no, because he killed Mr. Momomiya. And then we annihilated him."

Mrs. Honjou's jaw hit the floor. Moe giggled and said, "You're not going to tell anyone, right?"

"No, I don't want anyone to get dissected," Mrs. Honjou said. "But did you two really kill someone?"

"Three people, actually," Miwa said proudly. "Nori joined our grandfather, so we had to kill her because she attacked us, and Ichigo's former teammate Mint tried to kill Ichigo and us, so we took her down too."

"You're scaring me," Mrs. Honjou said. "I knew you liked fighting, but KILLING PEOPLE!?"

"It's only fun if the person is totally evil," Miwa said. "We'd never kill someone who's not totally evil."

"That's good to know…" Mrs. Honjou sighed. She looked at Ichigo, and said, "Ichigo, I'm sorry your dad was killed. How's your mom doing with this?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since I got back after watching Moe and Miwa annihilate Rindoru, their grandfather," Ichigo said. "She got kidnapped, but Pai got her back. Pai, did you take her home?"

"Hai," Pai said. "I think we should go check on her."

"K," Ichigo said. Kisshu took her hand and teleported to her room, followed by Pai. Ichigo let go of Kisshu's hand, and walked out to the hallway. "Mom?" she called out. She didn't get a response, and ran to the living room. She found her mother sitting on the sofa, looking down at Shintaro sadly.

Sakura didn't look up as Ichigo came in, she just asked, "Ichigo, why did you become a Mew?"

"I wasn't given a choice, that insane blonde bastard did it without asking my permission," Ichigo said. "If I had had a choice, I would have said no. Why?"

Kisshu and Pai came in as Sakura asked, "If you weren't a Mew, would your father still be alive?"

Ichigo's eyes filled with tears, and she screamed, "WHY IS IT MY FAULT!?"

"I'm just saying that maybe this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't worked for Ryou for so long," Sakura said sadly.

Tears spilled down Ichigo's cheeks as she said, "Fine. I see how it is. You don't want me around because it's all my fault that Dad's gone. That's just fine, I'll go live somewhere else. I see no point in living with someone who blames me for something I had no control over. And for your information, Dad died protecting YOU, not me. Have fun living on your own, now that you've lost him and chased me away." With that she ran out, followed by Kisshu, who didn't give Sakura a second glance. Pai followed soon after, but not before saying, "You went too far, Sakura." Then he ran after Ichigo as well.

As Kisshu ran after Ichigo, who hadn't listened to anything he tried to say to her, he called telepathically, _Aunt Yuki?_

_What's wrong? _he heard her ask.

_Sakura basically told Ichigo it's her fault Shintaro died, because she's a Mew, _Kisshu said grimly. _Can you and Uncle Hayako go talk with her?_

_We'll go do that, try to calm Ichigo down, _Yuki said, and cut the connection. Kisshu sighed as Pai reached him, and said, "I called Aunt Yuki, she and Uncle Hayako are on their way to Sakura."

"Good," Pai said. "Ichigo's not listening, is she?"

"Not at all," Kisshu said. "I think she's heading for the sakura tree in Inohara Park."

Pai looked at Ichigo, who was still running, then at the direction she was running in. "I think you're right; should I teleport ahead of you?" he asked.

"Good idea, otherwise we'll be getting her out of that tree," Kisshu said. "Cats can't climb down."

Pai nodded and teleported. Kisshu kept running after Ichigo, who had pulled ahead while he had been talking with Pai.

Ichigo, meanwhile, had never felt more hurt, and just kept running. _Doesn't she understand that it's hard for me too? _she wondered. _He was my dad, not just her husband. Does she think that because I'm not human, I don't care as much as she does? Or is it just that she really does blame me for his death? I know it was my enemy who killed him; so maybe it is my fault he died. But Mom didn't have to say that. I guess I thought we could comfort each other. Looks like I was wrong. I really thought she cared about me._

Ichigo eventually reached the sakura tree, out of breath. She stopped when she saw Pai leaning against the tree. Kisshu came up behind her a minute later. "Ichigo?" he asked.

"It's my fault Dad died…" Ichigo said sadly.

Kisshu turned her around to face him as Pai came over, and said, "No, it's not. It's Rindoru's fault."

"But if I hadn't become a Mew-" Ichigo started.

"Then he'd be dead anyways, along with you, me, and everyone else, because Deep Blue would just wipe out the humans and the Cyniclons," Kisshu said. "If you hadn't become a Mew, we'd all be dead, not just your dad. And you and I wouldn't be together. A lot of bad things would have happened if you hadn't become a Mew."

Ichigo was still crying a bit, and Kisshu hugged her. She buried her face in his chest as Pai came over and hugged her too. "Don't listen when people tell you mean things," Kisshu said softly. "I know it's hard hearing things like that, especially when they come from someone you love and trust, but just don't think about it. And don't start doubting yourself, either, k?"

"I'll try…." Ichigo whispered. "I thought Mom loved me…."

"I sent Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako over to talk with her," Kisshu said.

"I don't want to go home anymore," Ichigo said sadly. "Is this how it felt to you when Pai hurt you?"

"Like your heart's been ripped to shreds and stomped on?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, that's about how I felt," Kisshu said. "And it hurt more because I didn't understand why. At least you know the reason behind why your mom's so upset; I didn't get that."

He and Ichigo both looked up when Pai made a small sound. "Pai?" Ichigo asked softly.

"I'm horrible…." Pai whispered. "Kisshu really shouldn't have forgiven me for what I did to him."

"I forgave you because I wanted to," Kisshu said. "Sorry I brought this up."

Pai just sighed, and Kisshu said telepathically, _Let's focus on getting Ichigo through this, not on our past, k?_

_K, _Pai replied.

Suddenly they both heard Yuki say, _Bring Ichigo back home, I think we've worked things out. _

_K, _the boys said, and Kisshu said to Ichigo, "Koneko-chan, Aunt Yuki wants us back, okay?"

"I don't want to…." Ichigo moaned.

"I know, but we should work this out," Kisshu said. Then he teleported to the living room, still holding her. Pai teleported in a second later, and they turned to look at the adults.

**Bit of a cliffie there… Will Ichigo forgive Sakura? Or is it going to take longer? Review and find out, while I go work on Food for Thought. **


	34. Forgiving

**Namida Chapter 34:**

**Forgiving**

Yuki sighed, noticing that Ichigo was refusing to look at Sakura, and Pai and Kisshu were glaring at her. "I know you're all upset-"

"That's an understatement," Ichigo muttered.

Yuki sighed and continued, "I called you all back to talk."

"About the fact that my mother blames me for my dad's death, and hates me for not being human?" Ichigo asked bitterly.

"Ichigo, your mom is just upset," Hayako said.

"So am I, but I didn't tell her it's her fault that Dad died, even though he did it to protect her," Ichigo said. "I know it might be hard to believe, but I cared just as much about Dad as she did, and if she actually cared about me, she would have realized that. Being upset is fine; taking it out on others isn't, especially when you're that nasty about it. And just so you know, 'sorry' won't cut it on this one."

"I'm aware of that," Yuki said. "Words can't always express what someone is feeling. And words can't always make things right."

"So why am I here?" Ichigo asked. "I don't think I can forgive Mom for what she did. It was hard enough having Dad die, without her telling me it's my fault. Frankly, I think if Dad had heard that, he'd be horrified. I realize that if I hadn't been a Mew, this particular event might have been avoided, but if I hadn't been made a Mew, the world would most likely have been destroyed, along with all humanity and the Cyniclons too. And then Dad wouldn't be the only one who died."

"Koneko-chan has a point, Aunt Yuki," Kisshu said. "I can't really think of a reason for her to forgive Sakura."

Yuki sighed. "Why did you forgive Pai?" she asked.

"Because he's the most important person in my life aside from Ichigo," Kisshu said.

"Ichigo, who's the most important person in your life?" Yuki asked.

"Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Why?"

"Never mind," Yuki said wearily. "Is there any chance of you forgiving your mother before your dad's funeral?"

"Unlikely," Ichigo said. "I notice she hasn't said anything."

Yuki looked over at Sakura, who was looking at the floor glumly. "Sakura, do you have something to say to Ichigo?" she asked gently.

Sakura looked at Ichigo, who didn't look back. "Ichigo, I know I shouldn't have said that you're the reason Shintaro's dead," she said. "I know it doesn't help, but I really am sorry. I really don't want to lose both of you."

"You're a bit late," Ichigo said bitterly. "I see no reason for me to trust someone who just ripped my heart out and then stomped on it."

"Ichigo's right, Sakura," Kisshu said. "And if she doesn't want to forgive you, I'll support her. You lost me when you hurt her."

"Kisshu, you're not helping," Hayako said.

"I don't want Ichigo to go through what I put Kisshu through," Pai said. "I want to resolve this, before it gets to the point where it's not fixable."

Ichigo and Kisshu looked at him. He looked back, his gaze reassuring, then turned to Sakura and asked, "Why did you say that to Ichigo?"

"I was really broken up," Sakura whispered. "And I was thinking about how much both she and I had whacked Shintaro, and yelled at him. I honestly don't know what possessed me to say that her being a Mew was the cause of Shintaro's death. I know he died trying to protect me, but I think I let my emotions get to me, and I took them out on Ichigo. I should know better. And I probably don't deserve to be forgiven. If I lose Ichigo, it will be my fault, and my fault alone. She's all I have left, but I probably deserve to lose her too."

Pai sighed, then turned back to Ichigo, and held his hand out while saying telepathically, _Kisshu, trust me on this, and help me out._

_K, _Kisshu replied. Ichigo looked up at him, and he nodded encouragingly. Ichigo sighed softly and put her hand in Pai's as he said, "Sakura, get up."

Sakura obeyed, and he took her hand, then put it in Ichigo's, and put his hands over theirs. He looked at Kisshu, who came over and did the same. "Ichigo, would your father want you two fighting before his funeral?" Pai asked softly.

Ichigo sighed. "No, he'd be ashamed of us," she said softly. Then she looked at her mother, and said, "If anything like this happens again, I won't forgive you- ever."

"I understand, and I swear I'll never do something like this again," Sakura said. "I'm really sorry, Ichigo."

Pai and Kisshu let go of their hands, and Sakura hesitantly reached out to hug Ichigo. Ichigo hugged her as Yuki said, "Kisshu, will you make your peace as well?"

"Yes," Kisshu sighed. "I trust Ichigo and Pai." He hugged Ichigo and Sakura together.

"Good job, Pai," Hayako said.

"Thanks," Pai said, watching as Kisshu and Ichigo broke off the hug.

Sakura sighed and said, "We need to talk about funeral arrangements. I'm going to call up all of your dad's family, and have them find a place to do this. I'll also call up his boss, Kai, and Mika, since I assume they'll want to come, and his boss needs to know. Ichigo, anyone you want to come is welcome, so you might want to start making phone calls after we figure out a date. Would you also see if Keiichiro is willing to do or help with catering?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "You go call up Grandpa and everyone else; I'll go talk with Keiichiro."

"I have a question," Pai said.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Can I live here too?" Pai asked. "Lettuce's family doesn't really have the space for me, and I want to be here for Ichigo and Kisshu."

"I think that's a good idea," Ichigo said. "We'll have more company."

"Just keep Pai out of your kitchen," Hayako said. "He's a complete disaster. Taruto informed me he melted a pot and blew up the toaster. I don't know how anyone could be that bad, but Pai's set some records for kitchen disasters."

"Okay," Sakura said. "It just means Kisshu will have to share with Ichigo every night now."

"We don't mind!" Kisshu and Ichigo said together.

"Pai, do you want to keep going to Lettuce's school, or should I homeschool you like these two?" Sakura asked.

"I think I should talk to Lettuce's parents, since they enrolled me in her school," Pai said. "Can I get back to you on that?"

"Of course," Sakura said.

"I'll go now," Pai said. He teleported out.

"We should go talk to Keiichiro," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, do you want to teleport?"

"Yup," Kisshu said. He took her hand and teleported to the basement of Café Mew Mew.

No one was down there, so they went upstairs, to find everyone still in the main room. They looked up as Ichigo and Kisshu came in, and Keiichiro asked, "How's your mom?"

"Wondering if you'd be willing to help with the catering when we get a date for the funeral," Ichigo said.

"I'd be happy to," Keiichiro said. "But did something happen? Yuki and Hayako teleported out a while ago without saying anything."

"My mom told me it was my fault that my dad died, because I'm a Mew," Ichigo said. "Yuki and Hayako went to talk to her after I ran out."

Moe and Miwa turned red, and got up. "Guys, we worked it out!" Kisshu said quickly. "She's not going to do it again, she swore!"

Moe and Miwa just gave him the evil eye, and teleported out. "I'm never going to get used to them teleporting," Mrs. Honjou said. "Did we have anything else to discuss?"

"No," Keiichiro said. "Just remember, you can't tell anyone about them, except your husband, so he won't freak out when they start teleporting around the house."

"I understand, and I'll make sure he understands too," Mrs. Honjou said. "Though they'll probably freak him out just for fun."

"Just be grateful they can't seem to fly, or they'll be hovering on the ceiling waiting for him to pass by," Kisshu said.

"Actually, I think they can fly, I looked at their powers," Kaio said. "They have all the normal Cyniclon abilities individually, but as a team, they have the power to use others' weapons the way they're meant to be used. The reason they don't fly is because they don't know how. I think you and the others should teach them more about their powers, Kisshu."

"I'll do so," Kisshu said. "I don't think I want to know what would happen if one or more of their powers went out of control."

"You're right, they're both already level 5," Kaio said. "I think becoming Mews may have been the trigger for their Cyniclon abilities to start coming out. If they practice, the swords they have in Mew form will come to them in their normal forms as well. They're definitely not your average twins."

Suddenly teleportation sounded, and Pai appeared, holding Moe and Miwa by their collars. "Seriously, did you have to tell them what Sakura said?" he asked. "They came in looking like hungry wolves and started shouting at her. And then I stopped them from lunging, and brought them back here, because they apparently have no self-control."

Mrs. Honjou sighed, and said, "You two are now grounded until the funeral, got that?"

"WHY!?" the twins shouted.

"I think you know the answer to that," Mrs. Honjou said. "Let's go home now. And I drove here, so NO, you can't teleport home until we inform your dad about this."

"Aww…" Moe said.

Mrs. Honjou gave her a stern look, and said to Ichigo, "Will one of you contact me when you figure out what to do about training?"

"Of course," Ichigo said.

"Thanks," Mrs. Honjou said. "Alright girls, let's go home."

Moe and Miwa sighed and followed their mother out the door.

**I'll try to get more out soon. Plz review!**


	35. The Funeral

**Namida Chapter 35:**

**The Funeral**

After Moe and Miwa left, Pai turned to Lettuce, and said, "Lettuce-chan, I asked Sakura if I could live with her, Kisshu, and Ichigo, and she said yes. She also offered to homeschool me, but I thought I should ask you and your parents first. I'm willing to continue at your school, but I know it's expensive, and we both know that your parents aren't exactly keen on having me around."

Lettuce looked sad, but said, "You're right about my parents. They also don't exactly enjoy the school fees. Let's go talk with them, and then you can move in with Mrs. Momomiya. Will we still see each other?"

"Of course, but maybe not every day," Pai said. "Let's go talk with your family." He took her hand and teleported.

Kaio sighed, and said, "Now that the thing with Rindoru is settled, I have to return to Cyniclonia. It was nice to meet you all, and Kisshu, it was good to see you again."

"Thank you, Kaio-sama," Kisshu said, bowing. The others bowed too as Kaio teleported out.

Keiichiro sighed and asked, "Was there anything else?"

"All of you are welcome to come to my dad's funeral," Ichigo said. "Keiichiro, can we contact you when we've got a date?"

"Of course," Keiichiro said.

"Thanks," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, let's go home."

"Okay," Kisshu said, and teleported her home.

They landed in the living room, and found Hayako and Yuki still there. Sakura was on the phone, but said goodbye soon after they landed, and turned to them. "That's the last of the phone calls I need to make," she said. "What did Keiichiro say?"

"He'll help," Ichigo said. "I invited the other Mews, but we'll have to tell them as well as Moe and Miwa the date. Moe and Miwa got grounded till the funeral."

"Because they tried to attack me?" Sakura asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "We'll have to talk with them and Mrs. Honjou about training their Cyniclon powers soon. Kaio said that they're already level 5."

"Seriously!?" Hayako said.

"Yup, and the only reason they aren't flying is because they don't know how," Kisshu said. "Kaio-sama says they have all the normal Cyniclon abilities individually, but as a team they can use others' weapons the way they're meant to be used."

"It still amazes me that they got that ability even though they're half human," Yuki said. "Back to the funeral, though- do you mind if we come?"

"I was going to invite you anyways," Sakura said. "I'm waiting for a call from Shintaro's father, who's in charge of getting a place to do this. He'll tell me when the date is."

Suddenly the phone rang, and Sakura picked up, then said, "Oh, hi. Did you find a place? Okay, when did you rent it for? Two weeks from now, okay. See you then." She got a response, and hung up. Then she turned to the others and said, "The funeral is two weeks away, and the place is a banquet hall near Shintaro's childhood home. And I know you're not going to like this, Kisshu, but we do have to drive. It's about 45 minutes away from here."

Kisshu flinched. "I'll sit with you," Ichigo said. "Pai can have the front seat."

"I hate cars," Kisshu grumbled.

Pai teleported in a minute later, and said, "I talked with Lettuce and her family, and they said it's better if you homeschool me, Sakura."

"That's fine," Sakura said. "We were just talking about the funeral, which is two weeks away. We have to drive to get there, and it looks like you've got the front seat; Kisshu can't handle being in a car unless Ichigo is sitting next to him."

"I've never been in a car," Pai said. "They look small."

"They're not fun," Kisshu grumbled.

"There's more room in the front seat," Sakura said. "The only reason I don't have you sit there is because I think you'd probably freak out either way. I'm hoping Pai isn't like that…."

"I'll try not to be," Pai said. "Should I go inform Keiichiro of the date?"

"Yes please," Sakura said. Pai nodded and teleported off.

_**Two weeks later: **_The day of the funeral had arrived, and Ichigo and the others were getting ready. Ichigo and her mother were wearing black kimonos, and Pai and Kisshu had black suits. When they all were ready, Sakura said, "Okay, let's get in the car."

Kisshu flinched, and Ichigo took his hand as Sakura led the way to the garage. She waited as he got in, and then slid into the middle seat, so she could be closer to Kisshu. "Kisshu, put your seatbelt on," Ichigo told him as Pai got in the front seat and clicked in.

Kisshu sighed and obeyed, then leaned his head on Ichigo's shoulder. Sakura started the car, and Ichigo started stroking Kisshu's hair. He calmed down, and by the time they reached the next street, he was asleep.

Ichigo looked over at Pai, who didn't seem at all nervous. He looked back at her, and asked telepathically, _Kisshu's sleeping?_

_Yeah, it's the only way he'll make it 45 minutes in the car, sleeping with me stroking his hair, _Ichigo replied. _You don't seem nervous._

_I don't really mind; what is it about cars that makes Kisshu nervous? _Pai asked.

_He says they're small, enclosed spaces that move, _Ichigo said. _I think he's claustrophobic._

_You're right, put Kisshu in a small space, and he freaks, _Pai said. _I imagine it's ten times worse when the small space is moving._

_Apparently, _Ichigo said

They reached the place about half an hour later, and Ichigo gently shook Kisshu, saying, "Kisshu, we're here. Time to wake up, k?"

Kisshu stirred, then opened his eyes. "We can get out now?" he asked.

"Yep, you slept through the entire ride," Ichigo said. She unbuckled and got out after Kisshu. She looked around the parking lot, and saw that Keiichiro's van was there, so he and the other Mews were already here. Another car pulled up, and Moe, Miwa, and their mother and stepfather got out. Moe and Miwa came over to Ichigo and Kisshu, and Miwa asked, "How was the drive?"

"Kisshu slept through it, but it was pretty boring," Ichigo said.

"Same here," Moe said. "So are your evil cousins here?"

"Most likely," Ichigo said. "Just ignore them unless they try to physically harm me, k? I don't want you to get thrown out."

"We know, we already got the lecture on the way over about proper funeral behavior," Miwa said.

"Let's go, kids," Sakura called.

Ichigo, Kisshu, Pai, Moe and Miwa followed her into the building, and were met by a large number of people, mainly Shintaro's family. Ichigo stayed close to her friends until an older man came up to them. "Hi Grandpa," Ichigo said, hugging him.

"Hi sweetheart, how are you?" her grandfather asked.

"I'm okay," Ichigo said. "I miss Dad though."

"Don't we all," her grandfather said sadly. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, sorry," Ichigo said. "These are my friends Moe and Miwa, and my boyfriend Kisshu, and his brother Pai. They're living with us now."

"You two are lucky," Ichigo's grandfather said. "I don't know too many people who would let their daughter take in her boyfriend, much less his brother as well."

"We're very lucky," Kisshu said. "And I'm doubly lucky, because Ichigo is my girlfriend."

Ichigo smiled. "Grandpa, are you going to introduce yourself?" she asked teasingly.

"Sorry," her grandfather said. "I'm Shintaro's father, Momomiya Kidoru."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Momomiya," Miwa said. The others nodded.

Kidoru smiled and said, "Let's go inside."

An older woman came up to them as they came in, and Ichigo said, "Hi Grandma."

"Hi Ichigo, who are all your friends?" the woman asked.

"These are my friends Moe and Miwa, my boyfriend Kisshu, and his brother Pai," Ichigo said. "Guys, this is my grandmother, Momomiya Megumi."

"It's nice to meet you," Megumi said. "Please call me Megumi."

"It's nice to meet you too," Moe said.

"Ichigo somehow convinced her mother to take in Kisshu and Pai," Kidoru said.

"Wow, you're lucky," Megumi said. "My mother would have grounded me for just suggesting something like that."

"I'm really lucky," Ichigo said. "Kisshu and Pai have been really helpful to both me and Mom."

Suddenly Sakura ran up to them and said, "It's time, let's go."

Ichigo and the others followed her to a large room that was filling up with people. Kidoru and Megumi headed for their seats in the front row, and Ichigo, Sakura, Kisshu, and Pai sat down with them. Moe and Miwa joined their parents and the other Mews in another row, and Keiichiro, Yuki, Hayako and Taruto sat behind them.

Finally everyone was gathered in the room, and an old priest came up to the front of the room. He waited a minute, then said, "Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you are all as saddened by Momomiya Shintaro's death as I am. I had known Shintaro since he and my son became friends in elementary school, and it's very hard for me to realize that I'm outliving the bright kid I knew for so long. He grew from the kid who used to hang snakes on my clothesline to a fine man, a wonderful husband to his wife, and a loving father to his daughter. I am truly sorry to hear of his untimely death." He paused, then said, "A few people have asked to speak in honor of him, and I would first like to invite Momomiya Kidoru up to speak in honor of his son."

Kidoru got up, and walked to the front of the room, as the priest went to sit down. He faced the room full of people, and said, "Shintaro was a wonderful son, and I'm very proud of what he accomplished and what he left behind. He was a good husband and father, and overall a good man. It's very hard for me to realize he's really gone. He was very bright, even when he was a kid, and very caring. He was kind to everyone unless he felt they threatened someone he cared about. I'm well aware that he was very overprotective of his daughter Ichigo, and while that may not been the best way to raise a child, I know that he cared very deeply about both her and Sakura. I'm very proud of my son, and I know you're all as sad as I am to hear of his untimely death." He paused, then said, "Shintaro's wife Sakura has asked to speak in honor of her late husband, so I'll ask her to come up here too. Sakura?"

Sakura got up and went to the front of the room as Kidoru went back to his seat next to Megumi. When she faced everyone, she said, "The last few months haven't been exactly easy between Shintaro and myself, but I'm still very sad to be here, speaking in honor of him, rather than celebrating our 15th anniversary, which would be next month. I realize that the last few months of his life were hard on both of us, as I finally found a reason to force him to stop obsessing over bananas, and he found that very hard to deal with. He wasn't thrilled when I adopted my daughter's boyfriend, but he also put up with that, and I find that very admirable, despite the fact that it took a while for him to get used to that as well. Things were not easy between the two of us for the past few months, and perhaps whacking him with my broom to get him to behave kindly towards both my daughter's boyfriend and Ichigo wasn't one of my better ideas. But through it all, I still remembered that I love him with all my heart, and I'll never forget how wonderful he was- despite the insane obsession with banana bread, which drove everyone, including me, crazy. It was cute, but also insane. I'll never forget all that he's done for both me and Ichigo, from helping me raise her to taking me on all sorts of trips. I'll never forget him, and I know none of you here will either." She paused, then continued, "One more person asked to speak today, and I think it's very kind of him to do so. Ikisatashi Kisshu, will you come up here, please?"

Kisshu squeezed Ichigo's shoulder, and stood up, seemingly not noticing several people looked startled. Sakura went back to her seat as Kisshu faced the room, and said, "I know I didn't know Shintaro as well as most of you here, but I know he was a really good man. And considering I'm the reason he had to give up bananas, I'm really grateful to him for not getting the sword Ichigo claims he has in the basement, and killing me or something. Even though I found him fairly scary, I could see from looking at how well he raised Ichigo, and how kind he was to both her and Sakura, that he was a really great guy. I'm sad for them, and all of you, and I'm also sad because I think that we would have gotten along well, given some more time for him to get used to me. I'm truly sorry for the loss of a good man, and I'm sure you all are as well." Kisshu bowed slightly, and went back to his seat, seemingly not noticing everyone was in tears.

Ichigo looked at him, and he said softly, "I wanted to surprise you."

"You sure did," Ichigo replied as the priest came to the front of the room again.

The priest faced the room, and said, "Let us have a moment of silence, in honor of Momomiya Shintaro."

Everyone was silent until the priest said, "Thank you all. There's food in the next room, so I suggest you all partake of that."

Megumi and Kidoru came up to Kisshu as he was getting up, and Megumi said, "Kisshu, that was beautiful, thank you."

"Sure," Kisshu said. "I'm glad I asked Sakura if I could speak too."

"That might have been better than that little speech at your parents' funeral," Pai said.

"Considering I was six years old and trying not to cry, I'd say you're right," Kisshu said. "I'm hungry, can we get something to eat?"

"You're ALWAYS hungry," Sakura said teasingly.

Kisshu smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he said.

Ichigo giggled. "It's fine," she said. "Let's go eat."

Kisshu headed off, followed by the others, who were pretty amused.

**Nice long chapter there, and I need ideas for the next chapter, so I'll go work on Yams Part 2 now. Plz review!**


	36. Evil Cousins

**Namida Chapter 36:**

**Evil Cousins**

Kisshu and the others filled plates with food, and Kisshu and Ichigo went off to sit by themselves. Moe and Miwa joined them a few minutes later, and Kisshu asked, "So what's up with your cousins being evil, Koneko-chan?"

"I honestly don't know why they hate me," Ichigo said. "At the last family reunion, Nami tried to beat me up, but Dad threw her into a wall and then beat up his younger brother again. Uncle Tano spent about an hour lecturing Nami about 'proper behavior' and then grounded her for about a year. Strangely enough, Uncle Tano really looked up to Dad, which is why he gets mad at his kids when they do stuff to me. He didn't want Dad to think badly of him, so he blames his kids for the beatings he gets at family reunions. I honestly don't understand how his kids turned out so evil; he's a really great guy, and so is his wife, Aunt Umi."

"Is he your dad's only sibling?" Kisshu asked.

"No, Dad had two older sisters- both of whom had children who also hate me," Ichigo said. "All except for Aunt Ame's son Chika. He has a crush on me, and he's the most annoying person you'll probably ever meet. I hate him too. And Dad kept threatening to feed him to the sharks in Tokyo Bay. Too bad that never actually happened…."

"How many cousins do you have?" Kisshu asked.

"Eleven," Ichigo sighed. "Each one more evil and annoying than the last."

"Yikes," Kisshu said. "I didn't have any cousins. Maybe I should be glad…."

"My cousins aren't like that; maybe it's just Ichigo's bad family luck," Miwa said.

"Thanks, Miwa," Ichigo said sourly.

"Sorry," Miwa said sheepishly.

Pai came over a minute later, and said, "Ichigo, your cousins are evil."

"Tell me something I don't know," Ichigo sighed. "What did they do now?"

"They're talking about you behind your back, and Lettuce told them to shut up," Pai said.

"Let me guess, they still think I'm a spoiled crybaby," Ichigo sighed.

"Um… now they're saying you're a whore…" Pai said.

"They need a lesson," Kisshu said. "Moe, Miwa, let's go. Pai, where are they?"

"Against the back wall," Pai said. "I'll stay with Ichigo."

"Ichigo's going to prove to her evil cousins that she's not a crybaby," Ichigo said. "Let's go. Pai, are you coming?"

"Yup," Pai said.

Ichigo led the way to the back wall and her cousins, who were plotting something. They snickered when they saw her. "Okay, so what are you going to do to me now?" Ichigo asked.

"We're going to beat you up because your dad's no longer able to protect you," a girl with black hair said.

Ichigo- and her friends- snapped. "Nami, you just volunteered to get taken down first," Ichigo snarled. She launched herself at Nami, followed by Kisshu, Moe, Miwa, and Pai, who stopped the others from interfering.

Ichigo had Nami pinned down, and was beating her to a pulp. "Don't. Ever. Badmouth. My. Father. AGAIN!" Ichigo shouted. She got off Nami, and picked her up by the collar, then flung her into a nearby wall, successfully knocking her out.

By this point the adults had noticed the fight, and were starting to break it up. Sakura, Kidoru, and Megumi came over, and Sakura asked wearily, "Why did you do that?"

"They were calling me a whore, so I decided to honor Dad's memory by beating them up in his place," Ichigo said. She looked over at a man near the punch bowl, and said, "Don't worry, I won't beat you up this time, Uncle Tano."

"I think I should stop bringing your cousins to these things, it's apparently hazardous to their health," Tano said.

Nami was waking up, and Tano noticed when she said, "Dad, aren't you going to do anything?"

"You're grounded for a year again," Tano said. "Honestly, this is a funeral, not a place for fighting. Don't you have any respect for your uncle?"

"After he threw me into the wall? Not much," Nami said.

"Go wait in the car," Tano said. "And don't come back in. Just because you're my oldest daughter doesn't give you the right to badmouth my brother. And from here on out, you and your siblings don't get to come to these events. You can stay home with a baby-sitter. We will be having a LONG talk when we get home. OUT!"

Nami slouched out, but not before her mother called, "And straighten your shoulders!"

Tano walked over to the rest of his children, and said, "You're all grounded for six months, and NO, I'm not going to ask Ichigo's friends to apologize. You deserved it for badmouthing Shintaro and Ichigo."

The youngest of the kids mumbled something, and Tano said, "Care to repeat that?"

The kid looked nervous, and Kisshu sighed, then said, "He said, "Dad, why do you even care about that whore?" Can I strangle him?"

"That's my job," Tano said. "The rest of you will now be joining your sister in the car- GOT IT!?"

"Got it," the kids said gloomily, and headed out.

"I don't know where we went wrong…" Tano moaned.

"When you had the little monsters," Kisshu said bluntly.

"Kisshu…." Yuki said warningly.

"What? Some people turn out bad with the best of parents," Kisshu said. "Remember Kino?"

Yuki sighed. "Yes…." she said resignedly.

"Who's Kino?" Kidoru asked.

"My sister's late son," Yuki said. "He was a little older than Pai when he was killed. He was bad news from the start, even in his first years of school. My sister and her husband tried everything they could think of to improve his behavior, but nothing worked." She took a deep breath, then continued, "Shortly after his twentieth birthday, a little girl in town hit him for shoving her brother out of his way. Later that night, he went to her family's home, tied up her parents, and forced them to watch him kill their daughter."

"Oh my god…" Sakura said softly.

"My sister found out what he had done the minute he got home," Yuki continued. "She tied him up, called the authorities, and while they were waiting, told Kino he was going to receive the death penalty- even if she had to do it herself. Luckily for her, the courts found an executioner to do it, but my sister and her husband left town and never came back. They didn't even go to say goodbye, that's how upset and ashamed they were. I never heard from my sister again."

"Aunt Ami- that's my mom's sister- was the nicest person you'd ever meet, except for Sakura and Kisshu's real mother," Pai said softly. "Her husband was also a very easy-going, kind-hearted man. We all miss them- except Taruto, who never knew them. He was two years old when this happened. I was eleven, and Kisshu was seven. That's why Kisshu remembers that, and he's correct in saying that some people are bad from the start, no matter what their parents are like. But as I'm sure you know, having children doesn't necessarily mean they turn out the way you want them to."

"Do you have kids?" Tano asked.

"No, my mother simply told me that five million times," Pai said dryly. "I think I'll wait until Lettuce and I are married to think about having kids."

"Lettuce, make sure to teach your kids to keep their father out of the kitchen," Kisshu said, snickering.

Lettuce turned so red it probably wasn't healthy, and Pai glared at Kisshu. He started to say something, but Ichigo said, "Say the T word and you're doomed, got that?"

Pai's mouth snapped shut, and he sighed. "Fine, I'll doom Kisshu later," he sighed.

"Doom Kisshu- and we doom YOU," Moe said.

"Okay, that's enough doom," Sakura said. "I think the reception's breaking up, so should we head home?"

"I think that's a good plan," Ichigo said. "Come on, Kisshu, let's say goodbye and head out." She went to hug her grandparents as Kisshu grumbled something about 'cars are going to be the death of me'.

Pai sighed and said, "You'll have Ichigo, and you managed on the way over."

"Fine…" Kisshu said reluctantly. He followed Ichigo, and got hugged by both her grandparents. Ichigo was talking to Tano, but she broke it off and hugged him goodbye, then went to Kisshu. He was done hugging Megumi and Kidoru, and Sakura came up to them with Pai. "K, time to go," she said.

Kisshu sighed and followed them out to the car. He flinched as he got in, and Ichigo said, "Kisshu, just relax."

"I can't! It's a tiny space that moves!" Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed and slid into the middle seat, clicking in before saying, "Just lean on me, it'll help, k?"

Kisshu sighed, and leaned his head on Ichigo's shoulder, jumping slightly as Sakura started the car. Ichigo started stroking his hair gently, feeling him relax slightly. By the time they were down the street, Kisshu was sound asleep.

**I know it's short and fillerish, but I hope you'll still review, and if you've got ideas, let me know!**


	37. Shocker

**Namida Chapter 37:**

**Shocker**

A week had passed since the funeral, and things were pretty much back to normal. The only difference was that Moe and Miwa were spending a lot more time training their new powers. They were both training under Pai, who surprisingly knew how to use a sword. Since Kisshu was better with two, Pai was doing basically all the twins' training, leaving Kisshu and Ichigo to be together.

Pai had moved in with Sakura, Ichigo, and Kisshu, and they had started the homeschooling again. It was pretty easy for Pai, but Kisshu and Ichigo still hated math.

One Saturday, they were all relaxing at home when Keiichiro called. "Hi, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

"_There's a ship approaching Earth; I need all of you here," _Keiichiro said.

"We're on our way," Ichigo said, and hung up. Moe and Miwa were there, so she told them, Kisshu and Pai, "Keiichiro says there's a spaceship approaching Earth; we'd better get to the Café."

The others nodded, and Kisshu took Ichigo's hand, then teleported, along with the others.

They landed in the basement, and Keiichiro said, "We're just waiting on Zakuro."

Five minutes later, Zakuro ran in and said, "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine, but we're expecting whoever it is any minute," Keiichiro said. "The problem is, we have no clue who's coming. Kaio said he'd let us know if something came up, so I don't think it has anything to do with Cyniclonia. But we can't figure out why any Cyniclon would have reason to come here."

"Kaio-sama always keeps his word; maybe it's someone who wants revenge and snuck out?" Yuki suggested.

"Possibly, but I guess we'll have to wait and see," Keiichiro said. "I'm assuming they'll come here, so keep your guard up."

The others nodded.

Sometime later, everyone was getting bored. "Should we just go home?" Kisshu asked. "Maybe they're not coming."

Keiichiro looked at the computers, and said, "The spaceship is here, but whoever came isn't in it anymore. You'd think they'd come here."

"I guess we'd better go looking," Ichigo sighed. "We don't need people panicking. It is strange that they haven't come here, though."

"Unless they're looking for something," Yuki said. "For some reason, it feels like whoever's here doesn't mean to attack."

"That's interesting; what would they be looking for?" Pai wondered.

"I guess it's possible they don't know what this place looks like," Hayako said. "They could be looking for this Café because they don't know exactly what it looks like. If we can't form a clear image, we can't teleport."

Keiichiro sighed. "All of you go and search; I'll stay on the computers and keep in touch."

"Hai," the others said, and headed out. Outside, they split up, and Ichigo and Kisshu went off to Inohara Park.

As they walked, Kisshu said, "I think Aunt Yuki is right about whoever's here looking for something, but what would they be looking for?"

"I think we're about to find out," Ichigo said, looking at the sakura tree.

Kisshu followed her gaze. Two Cyniclons- a man and a woman- were sitting under the tree. Ichigo was looking at them closely, and then she heard the woman say softly, "Higashi, when are we going to find Kish?"

Apparently Kisshu hadn't heard this, because he looked at Ichigo strangely when she whispered, "Kish?"

"Yeah?" Kisshu asked. "You don't normally call me that…."

"The woman over there just asked the man, "Higashi, when are we going to find Kish?"" Ichigo said. "You wouldn't happen to know them, would you? Or is there more than one person with that nickname?"

To her surprise, Kisshu turned dead white. "Kisshu?" she asked, worried.

"It can't be…" Kisshu whispered- then he passed out. Ichigo caught him, worried, and set him down gently. She knelt next to him, and gently shook his shoulder. "Kisshu, are you okay?" she asked softly. He didn't even stir, and Ichigo sighed. Looking over at the couple under the tree, she saw they had noticed her, and were coming over hesitantly.

Noticing they looked nervous, Ichigo stood up slowly, and looked at them. As they came closer, Ichigo noticed the man's eyes were exactly like Kisshu's. _Kisshu told me he had no living family… so why… Unless- no, that's not possible, is it? _Ichigo thought. "Who are you?" she asked, a bit hesitant.

"I'm Higashi, and this is my wife, Anzu," the man said.

"Are you looking for something?" Ichigo asked. "Yuki said she didn't think you were here to attack."

Anzu smiled sadly. "No, we're not here to attack." Then she looked down, and dropped to her knees. Ichigo did the same, and said, "You know Kisshu, don't you?"

Higashi knelt next them, and said, "Yes."

Ichigo sighed and asked, "Aren't you two supposed to be dead? Kisshu told me he has no living family, yet your eyes look exactly like his."

"It's a long story," Anzu whispered. "What happened to him?"

"He passed out when I told him I heard you ask when you'd find him," Ichigo said. "I asked if he knew you two, and he whispered, "It can't be…" and passed out."

"I guess it is pretty shocking," Higashi said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ichigo," Ichigo said. "The leader of Tokyo Mew Mew."

"Why are you with Kisshu?" Anzu asked.

"We were looking for you, and the others are still at it," Ichigo said. "I'd better let Keiichiro know to bring the others back. Do you want to come back with me? The others should know what's going on."

"Alright, let's just wake Kisshu up," Higashi said, and tapped Kisshu's forehead.

Kisshu slowly opened his eyes, and looked shocked. "Dad?" he whispered.

"Yeah," Higashi said. "It's been a long time, Kish."

"Am I dead?" Kisshu asked. "You and Mom were killed in the rockslide…"

"Actually, we weren't, but it's a really long story that we'd rather tell only once," Anzu said. "Ichigo's offered to lead us back to her base, are you coming?"

Kisshu sat up, and looked at Ichigo. "I'll call Keiichiro, and have him call the others," she said. She took out her cell phone, and dialed Keiichiro's number. After two rings he picked up, and Ichigo said, "Kisshu and I found them, I need you to call the others and have them come back to the Café. We're on our way."

"_On it," _Keiichiro said, and hung up.

Ichigo looked at Kisshu and his parents, and said, "Are we walking, or teleporting?"

"Teleporting," Kisshu said. "Mom, Dad, I can implant the image in your minds." He went over and put a finger on each of their foreheads, and closed his eyes. "I see it," Higashi said.

"So do I," Anzu said.

"Let's go," Kisshu said. He took Ichigo's hand and teleported.

They all landed in the main room, and Ichigo said, "I suppose we should go to the basement."

Kisshu nodded, and led the way.

Keiichiro looked up as they came in, and asked, "Kisshu, who did you find?"

"My parents," Kisshu said.

Keiichiro looked shocked, and asked, "Didn't you tell us your parents were dead?"

"That's what I thought," Kisshu said. "Apparently they've got some explaining to do."

"Well, the others are on their way, so we can hear their story when everyone's here," Keiichiro said. He looked at Kisshu's parents and asked, "What are your names?"

"Sorry, I'm Higashi, and this is my wife, Anzu," Higashi said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Keiichiro," Keiichiro said.

Suddenly they heard teleportation, and Yuki, Hayako, Pai, Taruto, Lettuce, and Pudding appeared. Yuki, Hayako and Pai looked shocked when they saw Anzu and Higashi; Taruto looked confused. "Mom, what's going on?" he asked.

Yuki didn't seem to hear him. "Anzu?" she whispered.

"Hi Yuki," Anzu said.

Yuki hesitantly walked over, and reached out, putting her hand on Anzu's cheek. Anzu smiled. "I'm real," she said softly.

Yuki threw her arms around Anzu. Anzu hugged back just as tightly, as Yuki whispered, "Where have you been?"

"It's a long story, are there others coming?" Anzu asked.

Before Yuki could respond, Moe and Miwa teleported in with Zakuro. "Sorry we're late, we wanted to get Zakuro," Miwa said. "What's going on?"

"We're not exactly sure," Keiichiro said. "But I think it's better to go to the basement. Follow me."

The others followed him to the basement. Once everyone was inside the large room, Keiichiro said, "Higashi, Anzu, would you like to explain why you've come here, and why everyone thought you were dead?"

"I guess we'd better start from the beginning," Higashi said….

**This was requested by a guest reviewer named Mary, who wanted a cliffhanger at the end. So I did my best, and I'll have more out after I get five reviews, k?**


	38. Higashi and Anzu's Story

**Namida Chapter 38:**

**Higashi and Anzu's Story**

Higashi sighed. "The day of the rockslide, Anzu and I were searching for food in that area," he said. "We had left Kisshu with Yuki and Hayako, since he liked playing with Pai. There were several others nearby, also searching for food and supplies, since that was one of the better areas on our planet."

He paused, then said, "When the rockslide started, it came too fast for us to get out of the way. Both of us were knocked out, and assumed we'd die. So it was shocking when we woke up in what looked like a medical ward. The strange thing was, no one else was there. On our planet, there were usually several people in a room at a time, due to the sicknesses and injuries most people had. Anyways, we woke up, and some must have heard us, because we heard voices. A man with black hair and red eyes came into the room, and told us he had rescued us. He then explained that we were on a different planet. We both kind of panicked at that point, because we knew that if we were on a different planet, Kisshu would think we were dead."

Higashi paused again, and then said, "The man calmed us down, but we didn't stay that way for long, because he told us the reason he had saved us was that he needed help defeating Kaio-sama. We immediately refused. There was no way we were going to destroy our leader, for any reason."

He stopped, and Anzu continued, "I asked him who he was, and why he wanted to destroy Kaio-sama. His response was, "I am Rindoru, and I was the leader of the Cyniclons before Kaio-sama kicked me out." We were startled, because that didn't seem like something Kaio-sama would do. Higashi asked why he got kicked out, but he refused to answer. I have the ability to look through people's minds, and I found out that he had been kicked off the planet for attempting to murder Kaio-sama. I used telepathy to tell Higashi, but Rindoru must have noticed, because he knocked me out again."

She paused, then said, "When I woke up, Higashi and I were in what looked like a prison cell. It canceled out our powers, and we had no way to escape. And we were in there until about a year ago, when the power canceler died, and we got our powers back."

Higashi continued, "We got out of the cell, and found that Rindoru was gone. He had left behind a small spaceship, and we took it, then went back to Cyniclonia. We landed in a remote area, but it didn't look like the planet we used to know. At first we thought we had gotten the wrong location, but then we saw what looked like a house, and went over. It turned out to be our friend Kanna's house, and though she was initially unsure, she took us in, and helped us get our strength back. We learned that the planet had been restored with Mew Aqua, and when we both had recovered, she took us to see Kaio-sama. We explained what had happened, and he informed us that he had just returned from Earth, and that Rindoru was dead. He also told us Kisshu was living on Earth, along with Pai, Taruto, Yuki, and Hayako. He offered to contact you, but we asked him not to. We had been gone for so long, we didn't want to scare you, so we came to Earth anonymously, and started searching for Kisshu. Turns out he and Ichigo found us."

The others were silent for a minute, then Keiichiro said, "That's quite the story. I guess Rindoru had a habit of saving people and expecting them to be grateful enough to destroy Kaio; he tried to get Pai on board as well. Luckily, Pai didn't go along with it."

"I never would," Pai said. "Aunt Anzu, Uncle Higashi, I'm glad you're okay. Mom kept holding onto the hope that you were, even as Kisshu's depression caused him to give up hope. I don't think she ever told Kisshu she had a feeling you were still alive."

"With good reason, you know all too well what would happen," Yuki said. "Kisshu is totally reckless; he'd go off searching, and we'd never see him again, and without someone around to control him, all hell would break loose."

"Hey, I'm not THAT bad," Kisshu said indignantly.

Anzu giggled. "Kish, are you turning into your father?" she asked.

"I'm not reckless," Higashi said sulkily.

"That's what Kisshu looks like when he's sulking," Ichigo said. "He sulks about the funniest things, though."

"Like what?" Anzu asked.

"Apples," Ichigo said. "If he doesn't get enough apples, he starts sulking, and he doesn't stop until either he gets more apples, or I kiss him. He's so cute."

"Are you his soulmate?" Higashi asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said happily. "Yuki said when we first figured it out that Kisshu is a wonderful person to have as my soulmate, and she was right. Kisshu's wonderful."

Kisshu blushed. "Thanks, Koneko-chan," he said. "So are you."

Keiichiro smiled and said, "I suppose we should talk about arrangements, right?"

"If you don't mind," Anzu said. "If Kish wants to live here, I think we do as well. I don't want to be separated again."

"I have two spare rooms here in the Café, but Kisshu was taken in by Ichigo's mother," Keiichiro said. "She also took in Pai, since Yuki and Hayako are living with Taruto and his girlfriend, who is living without her parents. I don't think Sakura has the space for you to live there as well. But I'm sure you can visit as often as you like, and it's not too far away."

"I think that should work," Higashi said. "Kish?"

"As long as you're both still around, I'm happy," Kisshu said.

Anzu and Higashi smiled and hugged him together. Kisshu hugged back happily.

As they broke apart, Ichigo's cell phone started ringing, and she asked, "Did we forget to tell Mom we were leaving?"

"Oops," Kisshu said. "Better let her know we're still alive."

Ichigo picked up- then held the phone away from her ear as Sakura shrieked, _"Where ARE you!?"_

"Café Mew Mew, sorry we didn't let you know," Ichigo said. "Kisshu and I are bringing guests for dinner, just so you know."

"_Okay," _Sakura said. _"I'll let Moe and Miwa's mom know that they'll be home soon, k?"_

"Thanks, I'll tell them," Ichigo said. "See you soon!"

"_Bye," _Sakura said, and hung up.

Ichigo closed the phone and said, "Moe, Miwa, your mom's probably having a nervous breakdown, you should get home."

"Oh, fine," Moe said. "Bye minna!"

"Bye," the others said. Moe and Miwa teleported out, and Keiichiro said, "Okay, the rest of you can go home. Anzu, Higashi, I'll start setting up one of the rooms, so have fun with Ichigo and Kisshu."

"Thank you," Higashi said. "Where are we going?"

"I'll implant the image in your minds," Pai said. He put a finger on each of their foreheads, and closed his eyes. A minute later, Anzu said, "I see it."

"Same here," Higashi said.

"Let's go," Kisshu said. He took Ichigo's hand and teleported to the living room, followed by his parents and Pai.

Sakura came in, hearing the teleportation, and asked, "Who are your friends?"

"These are my parents, Anzu and Higashi," Kisshu said.

Sakura looked startled, and asked, "Didn't you tell me your parents were dead?"

"I thought so, but apparently they were being held captive by Rindoru," Kisshu said.

"It's good that Moe and Miwa killed him," Sakura said. "That guy seemed to be good at causing people pain."

"I wish they had let ME kill him," Kisshu grumbled.

"As long as he's dead, that's what matters, right Kish?" Anzu said softly.

"I guess," Kisshu said.

"Moe and Miwa don't look like Cyniclons; or did they just change their ears like you do, Kish?" Higashi said.

"They're half human, half Cyniclon," Kisshu said. "They're also fraternal twins, and Rindoru was their grandfather. But he killed Ichigo's dad, so they annihilated him. Kaio-sama came to find us while they were fighting him, and if he hadn't let them kill Rindoru, they'd probably be pretty grouchy- which is a scary thought. They were both level 5 before they started training. Probably has something to do with the amount of people they beat up for hurting me and/or Ichigo."

"It's good we're being homeschooled," Ichigo said. "Otherwise half the school would be in the hospital. The girls hated me because Kisshu's totally hot and he chose me over them, and the boys hated Kisshu because all the girls ignored them and tried to get Kisshu."

"Sakura's homeschooling us and Pai now," Kisshu said. "I STILL hate math, though."

"I don't like it much either," Anzu said. "Ichigo, I'm sorry to hear your dad is dead."

"Thanks," Ichigo said softly. "Kisshu spoke at his funeral. It was really sweet."

"I did a better job than the last time," Kisshu said. "I guess it was because I wasn't trying not to cry this time."

"You spoke when people thought we died?" Anzu asked softly.

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "Aunt Yuki convinced me to. She and Uncle Hayako were really helpful after that- despite the fact they couldn't get me to leave my room for about five months. I'm glad they kept trying."

Anzu hugged him, and said, "Sweetie, we're really sorry for putting you through all that."

Kisshu buried his face in her shoulder as he said, "I know it's not your fault, but I never stopped missing you."

"We missed you too," Higashi said. "I wish we could have seen you grow up."

Ichigo had been watching, and she turned to leave, but Anzu noticed, and said, "Come join us, Ichigo."

Ichigo came over, and Anzu hugged her and Kisshu together. Higashi hugged them all, and they stayed that way until Sakura called them for dinner.

**Short again, but I like it. I'm not sure there's much more of this story left, and I was thinking of doing the next chapter as the last or next to last, but if you've got ideas for a new plotline, let me know, k? Review!**


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